ARMY STRIKES KURDISH POSTS IN SYRIA

ISTANBUL The Turkish army shelled on Sunday positions held by the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria, east of the Euphrates River, 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 from “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 soured relations between the U.S. and Turkey, a fellow NATO member.