Turkish army killed 26 Kurdish terrorists
Ankara. The Turkish Defense Ministry said on Friday that its forces responded to an “attack” by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) and killed 26 Kurdish militants.
Ankara’s retaliation came after the YPG launched an “attack” late Thursday on the Dabiq base area in the Turkish military’s Euphrates Shield operation area in northern Syria, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a ministry statement.
Turkish warplanes also carried out airstrikes against the YPG, hitting 30 targets in the Tal Rifaat, Jazira and Derik areas on Thursday night, according to the ministry.
Semi-official Anadolu Agency reported that early Thursday, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) attacked YPG weapons and ammunition warehouses with armed drones.
Tensions escalated between the Syrian Kurdish group and Turkish forces in the war-torn country after a suicide bombing in Ankara on Sunday.
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for the attack in front of Turkey’s interior ministry on Sunday, in which one attacker blew himself up and another was killed in police firing.
Two police officers were injured in the attack.
In another development, Turkish police detained 75 suspected PKK members in 11 provinces on Friday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
The Turkish military has launched three air campaigns against PKK positions in northern Iraq since Sunday.
The Turkish military launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in northern Syria in 2020 to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been insurgent against the Ankara government for more than three decades.
Turkey views the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the PKK.
(IANS).
