ISTANBUL (AP) \u2014 Turkey launched deadly airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Sunday, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week\u2019s bomb attack in Istanbul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People\u2019s Protection Units, or YPG, the ministry said in a statement, which was accompanied by images of F-16 jets taking off and footage of a strike from an aerial drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry cited Turkey\u2019s right to self defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter in launching an operation it called Claw-Sword late Saturday. It said it was targeting areas \u201cused as a base by terrorists in their attacks on our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syrian Kurdish officials have alleged civilian deaths from the air attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The airstrikes came after a bomb rocked a bustling avenue in the heart of Istanbul on Nov. 13, killing six people and wounding over 80 others. Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the PKK and its Syrian affiliate the YPG. The Kurdish militant groups have, however, denied involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ankara and Washington both consider the PKK a terror group, but disagree on the status of the YPG. Under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG has been allied with the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PKK has fought an armed insurgency in Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the strikes, the Defense Ministry posted a photo of an F-16 fighter plane with the phrase, \u201cPayback time! The scoundrels are being held to account for their treacherous attacks.\u201d The DHA news agency reported that F-16s took off from airfields in Malatya and Diyarbakir in southern Turkey while drones were launched from Batman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry claimed that a total of 89 targets were destroyed and a \u201clarge number\u201d of what it designated \u201cterrorists\u201d were killed in strikes that ranged from Tall Rifat in northwest Syria to the Qandil mountains in Iraq\u2019s northeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar oversaw the airstrikes from an operations center and congratulated pilots and ground staff. \u201cOur aim is to ensure the security of our 85 million citizens and our borders and to retaliate for any treacherous attack on our country,\u201d he said, according to a ministry statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akar claimed that a wide range of targets \u201cwere destroyed with great success,\u201d including what he described as the \u201cthe so-called headquarters of the terrorist organization,\u201d without giving further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other Turkish officials responded to the attacks. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted a photograph of the Turkish flag with the comment \u201cPayback time for Istiklal\u201d \u2014 a reference to the street where last week\u2019s bombing happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The airstrikes targeted Kobani, a strategic Kurdish-majority Syrian town near the Turkish border that Ankara had previously attempted to take in its plans to establish a \u201csafe zone\u201d along northern Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syrian Democratic Forces spokesperson Farhad Shami in a tweet said that two villages heavily populated with displaced people were under Turkish bombardment. He said the strikes had resulted in 11 civilian deaths and destroyed a hospital, a power plant and grain silos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Syrian town of Derik, which lies where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Turkey meet, The Associated Press found a burnt out petrol station with destroyed buildings nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere were Turkish airstrikes here, approximately five strikes,\u201d said Abdulgafar Ali, an employee at the petrol station. \u201cThe bombardment caused mass destruction. It shut down the station completely and resulted in the killing and injuring of innocent civilians, who committed no sin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Women\u2019s Protection Units, or YPJ, which is linked to the YPG, said the airstrikes targeted areas along the Turkey-Syria border including Kobani, Derbasiyeh and Ein Issa. \u201cThe airstrikes are random that target the people,\u201d the YPJ media office said in written response to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe people who fought the Daesh terrorist organization are now under attack by Turkish warplanes,\u201d it said, using an Arabic acronym to refer to the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, reported that the strikes had also hit Syrian army positions and that at least 12 had been killed, including SDF and Syrian soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The observatory said about 25 airstrikes were carried out by Turkish warplanes on sites in the countryside of Aleppo, Raqqa and Hasakah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Defense Ministry said \u201cseveral\u201d Syrian soldiers were killed in the northern Aleppo countryside and Hasakah province. Syrian state media had previously reported three soldiers killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In neighboring Iraq, officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government said at least 32 PKK militants had been killed in 25 air raids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria said Saturday that if Turkey attacks, then fighters in the area would have \u201cthe right to resist and defend our areas in a major way that will take the region into a long war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi called on people to remain at home and abide by security forces\u2019 instructions. \u201cWe are making every effort to avoid a major catastrophe. If war erupts, all will be affected,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An SDF statement later said the attacks \u201cwill not remain unanswered. At the appropriate time and place, we will respond in a strong and effective manner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turkey\u2019s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that a Turkish soldier and two police officers were later wounded in a rocket attack on the Oncupinar border gate with Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It emerged that Erdogan gave the order for the airstrikes as he was returning from the G-20 meeting of world leaders in Indonesia on Thursday. The president\u2019s office released images of Erdogan being briefed on his plane by Akar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later on Sunday Erdogan, accompanied by a clutch of officials including Akar, left Turkey for the World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turkey has invaded northern Syria three times since 2016 and already controls some territories in the north. Earlier this year, Erdogan threatened another military operation in the border area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turkish forces launched a fresh ground and air operation, dubbed Claw-Lock, against the PKK in northern Iraq in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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