ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkish warplanes struck Islamic state group targets across the border in Syria, Turkey’s government confirmed Friday.
Advertisement
The violence comes three days after one of the deadliest terror attacks to happen in Turkey in years – a suicide bombing that killed at least 31 people in Suruc, another Turkish town that borders Syria.
The agreement follows months of U.S. appeals to Turkey and delicate negotiations over the use of Incirlik and other bases by the U.S.-led coalition – a sensitive topic in Turkey.
But yesterday’s attacks, which officials said were launched from Turkish air space, signalled that Ankara would crack down against Islamic State across the Syrian border. “Turkey is helping ISIS and facilitating their moves in and out of Syria, as well as aiding them in logistics and other levels”, says Xelil.
Hours before the border skirmish, Turkey had agreed to open its Incirlik Air Base to aircraft from the global coalition against IS.
Among those arrested in Istanbul was a senior local IS figure, Halis Bayancuk, who has the nom de guerre of Ebu Hanzala, the official Anatolia news agency said.
Turkey has stepped up efforts against Daesh since a suicide attack on Monday allegedly carried out by the group killed 32 people in southeastern Sanliurfa province.
Two police had been shot dead in southeast Turkey close to the Syrian border on Wednesday, in an attack claimed by the PKK’s military wing which said it wanted to avenge the Suruc bombing.
Turkish media said the targets were the Syrian village of Hawar al-Naht, near the border, but officials would not confirm the location. It’s not clear whether Turkey won any concessions in agreeing to the use of Incirlik.
Four Turkish tanks from the fifth armoured brigade responded by opening fire on IS targets in Syria in the most serious cross-border clashes yet between the two sides.
The strikes in Iraq targeted the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, whose affiliates have been effective in battling the Islamic State group. “I think we should wait to see if the details of the supposed agreement (between the U.S. and Turkey) actually pan out”, he said. Its proximity to IS-controlled territory in Syria including Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital makes it an attractive launching pad for U.S. airstrikes against IS.
He suggested Turkey could in part be trying to secure its position in Syria following the deal between Iran and world powers over its nuclear program, “which Turkey probably fears would allow Iran to support Assad more effectively”. “We took the first step last night”. And General John Allen, the commander of the coalition, said at the Aspen Security Forum on Thursday that such an option wasn’t even being discussed.
Syrian-Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia are the main US ally on the ground in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, sparking concern in Ankara about stoking nationalist sentiment within its own Kurdish minority.
Advertisement
He accused the PKK of not keeping a pledge to withdraw armed fighters from Turkish territory and to disarm.
