![]() ![]() ![]() Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. (2300 GMT) had become "terror hubs" and the aim of the bombardment was to prevent the PKK sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey. The Turkish military said the two regions it struck around 2 a.m. Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish politician who co-chairs the political wing of the SDF, said they wanted the United States to provide aerial protection against Turkey. 20 fighters were martyred and 18 others wounded, three of them critically," said spokesman Redur Xelil. ![]() "As a result of the barbaric strikes by the Turkish warplanes at dawn today against the YPG center. The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Syria's frontier with Turkey had been hit, including a media center, a radio station, communications facilities and military institutions. military officer accompanied YPG commanders on a tour of the sites hit near Syria's frontier with Turkey later on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, demonstrating the close partnership. "We recognize their concerns about the PKK, but these kinds of actions frankly harm the coalition's efforts to go after ISIS and frankly harm our partners on the ground who are conducting that fight." A U.S. Toner said the strikes hurt the coalition's efforts to go after the militants. "These air strikes were not approved by the coalition and led to the unfortunate loss of life of our partner forces," he added. "We have expressed those concerns with the government of Turkey directly," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on a conference call. Turkey is part of the coalition of more than 60 countries. In Washington, the State Department said it was deeply concerned by the air strikes, which were not authorized by the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Turkish raids showed the challenges facing U.S.-led attempts to defeat Islamic State in Syria and risk increasing tension between NATO allies Washington and Ankara over Kurdish combatants who have been crucial in driving back the jihadists. The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG, a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the United States and have been closing in on the Islamic State bastion of Raqqa. A Turkish military statement said around 70 militants were killed in the operations inside the two neighboring states. By Isabel Coles and John Davison ISTANBUL/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq's Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. ![]()
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