Turkey hints at possible Kurdish assault

ANKARA — Turkey’s president again hinted at a possible new ground offensive in Syria against Kurdish militants on Tuesday, as Syrian forces denounced new airstrikes and Russia urged restraint and called on Ankara to avoid an escalation.

Russian presidential envoy in Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said Turkey should “show a certain restraint” in order to prevent an escalation in Syria.

Lavrentyev expressed hope that “it will be possible to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force on Syrian territory.”

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces later said fresh Turkish airstrikes Tuesday struck a base the group shares with the U.S.-led coalition in the fight against the Islamic State group. Two militants were killed and three were wounded, the group said.

Turkey carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq over the weekend, in retaliation for a deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul that Ankara blames on the militants. The groups have denied involvement in the bombing.

The airstrikes also hit several Syrian army positions in three provinces along the border with Turkey, and killed and wounded a number of Syrian soldiers, Syrian officials said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Tuesday that Turkey’s actions would not be limited to aerial strikes,

Three more rockets were fired Tuesday, but caused no damage or injuries, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

While Kurdish-led forces in Syria have not claimed responsibility for the attack, they vowed Monday to respond to Turkish airstrikes “effectively and efficiently at the right time and place.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday Moscow urges Ankara to “refrain from steps that could lead to a serious destabilization of the situation in general.”