Turkey, considered a crucial ally in the battle against ISIS militants, staged its first airstrikes against the group last month after a supporter of ISIS detonated himself in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, killing 31 Turkish nationals.
Advertisement
“He is going for early elections”, said Henri Barkey, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson worldwide Center for Scholars and an expert on Turkey.
As well as PKK targets, Turkish jets have hit Islamic State positions in Syria.
Monday’s drone strike could be regarded as the first indication that the US Air Force has prepared for large-scale air assaults on ISIL targets across northern Syria.
Turkish security forces have detained over 1,300 individuals with suspected ties to the IS, PKK, and leftist groups, according to a statement from the Turkish prime minister’s office.
The PKK, which had been party to a ceasefire agreement with the central government since 2013, stepped up its attacks after the bombing, saying the government had not done enough to protect the country’s Kurdish minority.
Diplomats familiar with the plans said 60 US-trained rebels will be highly equipped and offer close air support. One such campaign was for the Kurdish-language broadcaster Roj TV, which, although based in Denmark, was forced from the air after the Turkish government agreed to support former Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s appointment as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation secretary-general.
While all suspicion was directed at IS, Kurds accused the government facilitating the group in carrying out the suicide attack.
Cavusoglu said at the start of a meeting with Kerry that the anti-IS operation would be helped by moderate Syrian rebels.
He said the United States was planning to fly manned aircraft out of Turkey but that had not yet begun. But this diplomatic activity is inconsistent with the situation on the ground, where groups may be unwilling to fight for the objectives of their sponsors.
The two top diplomats met at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of a regional security gathering.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bloody bombing offensive against camps of the Kurdistan Workers Party has the green light from the U.S. rulers.
Whatever the Turkey-US alliance intends for northern Syria, however, they are keeping numerous details to themselves.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the United States, took up arms for self-rule in the southeast in 1984, and the conflict has since claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The flare-up in violence comes at a time of political uncertainty in Turkey. “We did not allow the PYD to join due to pressure from Ankara”.
Advertisement
Akdogan also said that the PKK had to cease operations: “Their withdrawal from Turkey and a complete halt to activities is now a pre-requisite”, he said.
