Military strike
Türkiye is carrying out air strikes in northern Syria again
A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft. (Symbolic image) photo
© Ingo Wagner/dpa
The Turkish military is once again taking action against Kurdish militias in Syria. The Turkish Defense Ministry said it had bombed oil facilities and shelters belonging to the Kurdish militia YPG.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday “intense” shelling overnight in northeastern Syria. The organization bases its information on information from local activists.
After the attack in Ankara
Ankara justifies the attacks in Syria that began on Thursday after the suicide bombing in Ankara with the right to self-defense. On October 1st, two police officers were injured and both attackers were killed. The banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK claimed responsibility for the attack. Turkey sees the YPG as an offshoot of the PKK and classifies both as terrorist organizations. The Turkish Air Force also repeatedly carries out air strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq, where it has its headquarters.
The Turkish military has carried out several military offensives in northern Syria since 2016, mainly targeting the YPG – and has occupied border regions in the neighboring country. In Europe and the USA, only the PKK is listed as a terrorist organization. The SDF, led by Kurdish militias, is a close ally of the USA in the fight against Islamist terrorists in Syria.