Another soldier was seriously wounded in the attack, which came a day after the vehicle bombing in the Turkish capital that targeted military personnel.
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The military said Thursday the warplanes struck the region of Haftanin in northern Iraq, targeting a group of some 60-70 rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
In any case, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Thursday that Turkey will continue to shell YPG positions – ignoring Washington’s earlier request that Turkey hold its fire against the US-backed Kurdish forces while it works to “de-escalate” the situation. He also accused the Syrian government of being directly responsible for the blast.
Erdogan said the attack would show the worldwide community the strong links that exist between the PKK and the Syrian Kurdish militias.
In remarks to the press at the Turkish General Staff headquarters, Davutoglu revealed that the attack was carried out jointly by a Syrian-national YPG member and PKK members based in Turkey.
Erdogan said that 20 of those killed were military personnel.
Turkey is getting dragged ever deeper into the war in neighbouring Syria and is trying to contain some of the fiercest violence in decades in its predominantly Kurdish southeast. Turkey’s leaders are vowing to retaliate.
That’s according to the Anadalou Agency, which also quotes Davutoglu warning Russian Federation against helping the YPG: “All those who intend to use terror pawns against Turkey must know that [playing] this game of terror will hit them like a boomerang”.
A claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s bombing has not yet been made.
Wednesday’s attack is the latest in a series of explosions in Turkey.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey on Thursday blamed Kurdish militants at home and in neighboring Syria for a deadly bombing in Ankara and it stepped up pressure on the U.S.to sever ties with the Syrian Kurdish militia that has been a key force against the Islamic State group in the complex Syrian conflict.
The U.S. already lists the PKK as a terrorist group.
Turkish leaders regard the PYD as the Syrian wing of the PKK, which Turkey and its US and European Union allies consider a terrorist organization.
The YPG has been one of the most successful forces in taking the fight to ISIS, and has proved a vital partner in the USA campaign against the Islamist terror group.
The bomber, identified as Salih Necar, was thought to have entered Turkey with refugees from Syria. But Ankara’s priorities are fighting the Kurds and defending against terrorism.
Hundreds of people have been killed in Turkey in renewed fighting following the collapse of the peace process between the government and the Kurds in July.
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The route via Turkey has become the sole supply line for Azaz after the Syrian army closed what for years had been the main route into rebel territory and advanced to within 25 miles of the border for the first time in over two years.
