Turkish planes strike Kurdish militants in Syria, Iraq’s Sinjar
BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish militants in Iraq’s Sinjar region and in northeastern Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 18 fighters and officials in a widening campaign against groups affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.
The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG – a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are backed by the US and have been closing in on the Islamic State bastion of Raqqa.
The operation showed the challenges facing the US-led campaign and risked increasing tension between NATO allies Washington and Ankara over Kurdish combatants who have been crucial in driving back the jihadists.
A US military officer accompanied YPG commanders on a tour of the sites hit by Turkey later on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, demonstrating the close partnership.
At least 18 YPG fighters and media officials were killed in Tuesday’s air raids, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported. There was no immediate casualty report from the YPG.
The Turkish military said the two regions it struck had become “terror hubs” and the aim of the bombardment was to prevent the PKK from sending weapons for attacks inside Turkey.
“To destroy these terror hubs, which threaten the security, unity and integrity of our country and our nation and as part of our rights based on international law, air strikes have been carried out... and terrorist targets have been struck with success,” the Turkish army said.
Turkey has regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a cease-fire broke down in July 2015. But Tuesday’s raid was the first time they have targeted its affiliate in the Sinjar area, a separate group to the YPG.