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Suicide attack hits Turkish troops

A suicide bomber drove the tractor carrying two tons of explosives into the military building.

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The wounded soldiers have been hospitalized, although there has been no word on their conditions.

Bilgiç said that the coalition aircraft flying from Turkish bases could target Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, but were not authorised to provide air support to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The Turkish government is believed to be one of the main supporters of the terrorist groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011, with reports showing that Ankara actively trains and arms the militants operating in Syria, and also facilitates the safe passage of would-be foreign terrorists into crisis-hit areas.

At least 21 people, mostly security forces, have been killed in 11 days of attacks and clashes in Turkey.

The PKK, considered a terror organization by Turkey and its western allies, launched its armed campaign for autonomy in Turkey’s southeast in 1984.

At least eight civilians were killed in the attacks, according to witnesses and the PKK-affiliated Firat news agency.

A demonstrator holds a portrait of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan during a march in solidarity with him in Diyarbakir, Turkey, August 1, 2015.

The PKK had been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s.

There is also growing controversy over possible civilian casualties in the Turkish bombings, and the local Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq on Saturday urged the PKK to spare civilians.

The leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition has accused Erdogan of launching air strikes in Syria and Iraq to prevent Kurdish territorial and political gains, and of using the war against Daesh as a cover. The regional government also called on both sides to resume peace talks.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Air Force has subsequently focused on targeting the PKK rather than the Islamic State in response to a resumption of attacks by the Kurdish group in the wake of the Suruç bombing.

Anatolia published a report late Saturday claiming that the group’s leadership has split into three to protect itself from further air strikes.

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The state-run Anadolu Agency said as many as 28 F-16 jets raided 65 PKK targets in northern Iraq, including shelters and ammunition depots on Friday.

Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of targeting their YPG forces