Turkey considers both the PKK and YPG to be terror groups, in contrast to the United States which only classifies the PKK as a terror organisation and works closely with the YPG as an effective force fighting Islamic State jihadists in Syria.
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The TAK has previously claimed it carried out a mortar bomb attack on the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul which killed a cleaner. Turkey’s prime minister has also canceled a planned visit to Brussels following the explosion in the Turkish capital.
Hollande also said “Russia will be unable to cope if it unilaterally supports (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad” and called for “pressure” to be exerted on Moscow to negotiate on Syria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the issue. Turkish leaders said they have identified the perpetrator of the attack as a Syrian national. “We are not responsible for who will die in the attacks targeting those areas”, it said.
In response to a question on U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby’s recent remarks over the Ankara attack, Erdogan said that he would have a phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama at 05.00 p.m. local time [1500 GMT].
The arrests came as Turkey’s military pushed ahead with a cross-border artillery shelling campaign against US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia positions in northern Syria. “It goes about not only the Kurds – Russia will defend the territorial integrity of Syria”, he added.
Turkey has been waging an all-out offensive against the PKK, imposing military operations backed by curfews to flush out the rebels from several southeastern urban centers including Cizre.
Meanwhile, a vehicle bomb in the Turkish capital Ankara Wednesday has brought tensions between the US and its close ally Turkey to breaking point. While Turkey remains at odds with the Kurds, those groups are still receiving support from the United States in Syria for their fight against Islamic State forces there.
The statement said the group would “take revenge for all the suffering of the Kurdish people” and said the attack in Ankara was against the “fascist” Turkish state.
The Security Council is holding an emergency meeting at 2000 GMT at Moscow’s request, to address Turkey’s proposal for ground forces to be deployed in Syria, the Russian foreign ministry said in Moscow. The claim couldn’t be verified.
After the suicide attack Wednesday, Turkey also began directing airstrikes at PKK camps in Iraq and announced it will continue bombing YPG positions.
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Turkish authorities earlier detained three more suspects in connection with the bombing. Hundreds of people have been killed in renewed fighting following the collapse of the peace process and tens of thousands have been displaced.
