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Death toll in Ankara bombing increased to 29

Russia, meanwhile is pushing against Turkish efforts.

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Kirby said the actions were clearly an act of terrorism, as he urged both sides, the YPG, and Turkey, to show restraint and to focus on the fight against the Islamic State.

Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Turkey, has “lost her neutrality about Turkey’s issues”, the country’s EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said in a statement.

Most observers think direct Turkish intervention unlikely, at least for now. However, the United States is not the PYD’s only friend because the group is also the “new friend” of Moscow, whose Syria policy is at odds with that of Washington.

The YPG has denied carrying out Wednesday’s bombing in Ankara, claiming that it was an inside job by the Turkish government to build a case for sending ground troops into Syria, Express reported.

Bozkir criticised Piri for skipping a visit to Ankara – the site of a bombing last week claimed by Kurdish militants that killed 28 people – and instead spending a whole day “with supporters of the PKK”.

Tusk offered his condolences to Erdogan, condemning the recent terrorist attacks in capital Ankara and southeastern province of Diyarbakir, the presidency said, Anadolu Agency reports.

Turkey is an outspoken critic of Syrian President Assad.

Damascus on Saturday denounced Turkish artillery shelling inside the Syria territory as an “outrageous violation” of worldwide law, saying Ankara is targeting civilians in the Arab country.

President Barack Obama on Friday spoke to Erdogan in an 80-minute telephone call, sharing his concerns over the Syrian conflict and promising his support. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation would be presented with a choice between supporting a member state or a war with Russian Federation.

“Whatever the judicial inquiry concludes over the identity of the bomber, it is clear that the bomber came from Rojava, the area of the PYD”, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters, referring to Kurdish-controlled northern Syria. They fear Kurdish groups could create a stronghold near its southern border.

He said the government was watching all developments on the country’s borders carefully, adding that their attitude was very open and clear about the terror structure operating in northern Syria.

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The region has been swept by violence since the collapse in July of a ceasefire between the government and the PKK, which has waged an insurgency for Kurdish autonomy for decades.

Ankara warns Moscow: Russia Will Be Held Responsible for Any Terror Attack in Turkey