Turkey strikes US-backed Kurds in Syria

ISTANBUL — The Turkish army shelled positions held by the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria on Sunday in a new spike in tension along the borders.

Ankara considers the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia an extension of its own insurgent groups, which it refers to as “terrorists and separatists,” and sent its military into Syria two years ago to drive the group and Islamic State militants away from its borders in northwestern Syria.

Recently, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to expand the military operations to clear the borders of “terror.”

The Syrian militias, known as the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or the YPG, are the backbone of the U. S.- backed force that is fighting Islamic State militants. The alliance between the Kurdish fighters and Washington has soured relations between the U.S. and Turkey, a fellow NATO member.

The rare Turkish shelling east of the Euphrates River comes a day after an international summit on Syria hosted by Turkey, which called for an inclusive political process and for creating conditions to allow the return of millions of refugees.

Speaking at the summit, Erdogan said Turkey has been among those most harmed by “terror organizations” in neighboring Syria.

“We will continue eliminating threats against our national security at its root in the Euphrates’ east as we have done so in its west,” Erdogan said.

Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said Turkish artillery strikes Sunday hit trenches and positions built by the YPG on a hill in the village of Zor Moghar, in rural northern Aleppo.

The village is across the Euphrates River that separates Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces and the YPG.

The YPG is affiliated with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, leading the fight against IS in eastern Syria.

The YPG said the Turkish shelling was “unprovoked” and is a distraction from the fight against IS.