On Wednesday, the U.S.-backed group known as the Syria Democratic Forces launched an offensive to try to reach Shaddadeh, a major Islamic State group stronghold in Syria’s northeastern Hassakeh province bordering Iraq.
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Meanwhile, a military convoy in south-east Turkey has been hit by a bomb, killing at least six troops.
“This attack did not only target our military personnel in those shuttles”, Kurtulmuş said. Turkey’s leaders are vowing to retaliate. Twenty-eight people were killed and 61 injured.
Turkey insists that the Syrian militias and the PKK are the same and both are terror groups.
It was latest in a string of deadly strikes that have rocked Turkey since last summer and one of the deadliest assaults targeting the military in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member state in recent years. There were no injuries because the association was closed at the time.
The blast came after a man was seriously wounded when shot during a pro-Kurdish demonstration in Fittja on Saturday.
The blast hit the armoured vehicle on the highway linking Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast, to the district of Lice.
“Turkey’s losses in its struggle against terrorism are challenging its patience”, he added, stressing that Turkey will overcome the attacks.
The PKK has been fighting for more autonomy for Kurds within Turkey for more than three decades. The conflict reignited in the summer after the collapse of a fragile peace process. Salih Muslim, a Syrian Kurdish leader, rejected Ankara’s allegation.
“We have no link to these bombings and with what is happening inside Turkey”, he told the AP. Davutoglu also blamed Syria’s government for allegedly backing the Syrian Kurdish militia.
In an apparent reference to the USA, he called on Turkey’s allies to stop its support for the Syrian Kurdish group. “Will they (the United States) shift their view on YPG?”
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says Salih Naccar, a Syrian Kurdish YPG militia member, was responsible for the Ankara explosion, in which 27 of the 28 fatalities were soldiers.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a statement that Turkey will use its legitimate right to defend itself always and everywhere.
The prime minister said authorities had detained nine people in connection with the attack.
A monitoring group said at least 500 rebels on Wednesday crossed the Turkish border heading for Azaz. The military said the group included a number of senior PKK leaders.
The deadly blast occurred during the evening rush hour on Merasim Street, which connects Dikmen Street to Inonu Boulevard, which is close to the Turkish General Staff and parliament buildings. It said he had been registered as a refugee in Turkey.
A government official couldn’t confirm the reports.
“We strongly condemn this cowardly attack which appears to have targeted buses carrying Turkish military personnel”.
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No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
