After bombarding Islamic State targets in Syria, the Turkish military mobilized forces along the border near the town of Karkamis.
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Turkey signaled Tuesday it would step up its engagement in the Syrian war, as Turkish-backed Syrian rebels massed along the border to assault one of the last Syrian frontier towns held by Islamic State militants.
The latest Turkish shelling in northern Syria followed Sunday’s suicide bombing of a Kurdish wedding in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, which killed more than 50 people.
The YPG, a critical part of the USA -backed campaign against Islamic State, controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established autonomy from Damascus since the start of the Syria war in 2011.
It also shelled positions in the area held by Kurdish YPG fighters, who have been advancing against IS and have been backed by the US.
On Monday, however, Yıldırım said Turkey still did not know who carried out the attack and that all “rumours” about the age and affiliation of the bomber should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Most of the 54 victims of the Gaziantep attack were children, media reports say.
With regards to the recent shelling, CNN Turk quoted a government official as saying Turkey was aiming to open a corridor for rebels, from factions mostly focused on fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
This could potentially put them on a collision course with the militia of the Kurdish Democratic Union party (PYD), which Ankara vehemently opposes.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that Turkey is ready to provide all kinds of support for military operations against the Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian town of Jarablus, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The Turkish bombardment has also struck YPG positions north of Manbij, Turkish TV reported.
Turkey’s fight against Kurdish groups linked to the banned PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), as well as the IS group has added another layer of complexity to the Syrian conflict and has met with severe criticism from opponents of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says the identity of the bomber – initially thought to be a child – has not yet been established.
What is known is that it was a Kurdish wedding and IS have targeted Turkish Kurds in the past.
Numerous victims were children – the two youngest were four years old. It said 58 people were still being treated in hospitals and 13 were in serious condition.
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The latest developments have thrust the town into the spotlight of the ongoing Syrian civil war.
