In a significant escalation of hostilities, Turkey has ramped up its aerial bombardments targeting Kurdish factions in Syria and Iraq’s northern regions following an incident that claimed the lives of a dozen Turkish troops in Iraq last weekend.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that the air raids had successfully neutralized a minimum of 26 militants.
Reports from Qamishli, located in Syria’s northeastern territory, indicated that Turkish airstrikes conducted on Monday resulted in the death of at least six civilians, according to a hospital source who remained anonymous due to policy. Corroborating these claims, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization monitoring the conflict from the UK, confirmed the same number of civilian casualties.
The monitoring group also noted that an additional 11 civilians sustained injuries due to the aerial attacks.
Statistics released by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reveal that Turkey has executed 124 airstrikes across northeast Syria so far in 2023, leading to 92 fatalities.
On the preceding Friday, Turkish authorities reported an incursion attempt by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, into a Turkish military outpost situated in the semi-autonomous Kurdish zone of northern Iraq. The clash resulted in the death of six Turkish soldiers. The following day, confrontations with Kurdish militants led to the loss of six more soldiers from Turkey’s ranks.
In retaliation, Ankara targeted numerous locations it associates with the PKK. The offensive impacted oil facilities and crucial infrastructure in Syria’s northeast, causing a 50% reduction in electricity production on Saturday, as per statements from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, a regional authority led by Kurds which Turkey alleges has ties to the PKK. Despite Turkey’s claims, this body is recognized as a major ally of the United States.
While both Turkey and the United States designate the PKK as a terrorist organization, they diverge in their views concerning Syrian Kurdish groups that have partnered with the U.S. in combating the Islamic State group in Syria.
The Kurdish administration has called upon the United Nations to step in, cautioning that the Turkish assaults pose a threat to regional stability. The administration highlighted that one of the bombardments struck close to the Alaya prison in Qamishli, a facility that detains members of the Islamic State.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, led by Commander Mazloum Abdi, criticized Turkey’s actions on a social media platform, denouncing the targeting of infrastructure and the livelihoods of civilians in the northeast of Syria.
At the time of reporting, no comments have been issued by Iraqi officials regarding the airstrikes.
(Adaptation of original content by The Associated Press. The material presented has been modified and is not intended for reproduction in its original form.)
Turkey escalated its airstrikes on Kurdish targets in Syria and northern Iraq following the death of 12 Turkish soldiers in Iraq. The Turkish defense ministry claimed to have killed at least 26 militants. Airstrikes in Qamishli, Syria, resulted in at least six civilian deaths and 11 injuries, as reported by a local hospital official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory noted that Turkey has conducted 124 strikes in northeast Syria in 2023, resulting in 92 fatalities. The attacks were in retaliation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey regards as a terrorist organization. The strikes have also impacted infrastructure in northeast Syria, cutting electricity production by half. The Kurdish-led administration in the region has called for UN intervention, highlighting the risk to regional security, including a strike near a prison housing IS members. The U.S. and Turkey have differing views on Syrian Kurdish groups, despite both considering the PKK a terror group. There has been no comment from Iraqi officials about the strikes.
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