Turkey strikes at Kurds in Syria, Iraq

U.S. raps attacks on ‘partner forces’ against ISIS; Baghdad decries transgression

Turkish warplanes, like the one pictured above, carried out airstrikes Tuesday against suspected Kurdish rebel positions in Iraq and Syria, the military said, in a bid to prevent rebels from smuggling fighters and weapons into Turkey.
Turkish warplanes, like the one pictured above, carried out airstrikes Tuesday against suspected Kurdish rebel positions in Iraq and Syria, the military said, in a bid to prevent rebels from smuggling fighters and weapons into Turkey.

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish warplanes struck suspected Kurdish rebel positions in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Baghdad and criticism from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, which is allied with Kurdish factions in both countries.

The Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units said 20 of its fighters were killed and 18 wounded. The Protection Units is a close U.S. ally against the Islamic State but is seen by Turkey as a terrorist group because of its ties to Turkey's Kurdish rebels.

The airstrikes also killed five members of the Iraqi Kurdish militia known as the peshmerga, which is also battling the extremist group with help from the U.S.-led coalition.

Protection Units spokesman Redur Khalil said the Turkish aircraft struck the group's headquarters in Karachok, in Syria's northeastern Hassakeh province, causing extensive damage to the headquarters as well as nearby civilian property.

The Protection Units is among the most effective ground forces battling the Islamic State group, but Turkey says it is an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and that that group's fighters are finding sanctuaries in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

A Turkish military statement said the pre-dawn strikes hit targets on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and a mountainous region in Syria. It said the operations were conducted to prevent infiltration of Kurdish rebels, weapons, ammunition and explosives from those areas into Turkey.

The military said in a later statement that the air strikes hit shelters, ammunition depots and key control centers, adding that some 40 militants in Sinjar and some 30 others in northern Syria were "neutralized."

In an emailed statement, the U.S.-led coalition said Iraq's neighbors need to respect Iraqi sovereignty.

"We encourage all forces to ... concentrate their efforts on ISIS and not toward objectives that may cause the Coalition to divert energy and resources away from the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria," it said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.

Iraq's Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a "violation" of its sovereignty and called on the international community to put an end to such "interference" by Turkey.

"Any operation that is carried out by the Turkish government without any coordination with the Iraqi government is totally rejected," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal told The Associated Press.

He cautioned against a broader Turkish military operation, saying it would "complicate the issue and destabilize northern Iraq."

Although Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against Workers' Party targets in northern Iraq, this was the first time it has struck the Sinjar region. Turkey has long claimed that the area was becoming a hotbed for Workers' Party rebels.

In the U.S. on Tuesday, President Donald Trump's administration sharply criticized Turkey for attacking Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq, accusing the U.S. NATO ally of failing to coordinate the airstrikes with the American-led coalition against Islamic State militants.

The State Department and the Pentagon both described the United States as "deeply concerned" by the strikes and said the objections were raised directly with the Turkish government. They warned that Turkey's targeting of Kurdish groups could distract from the common campaign to defeat the Islamic State.

"We are very concerned, deeply concerned, that Turkey conducted airstrikes earlier today in northern Syria as well as northern Iraq without proper coordination with either the United States or the broader global coalition to defeat ISIS," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

"These airstrikes were not approved by the coalition and led to the unfortunate loss of life of our partner forces in the fight against ISIS that includes members of the Kurdish peshmerga."

Toner noted Iraq's criticism of the attack on its soil and said any military action in that country "should respect Iraqi sovereignty."

Coordination among all partners is vital "to ensure the safety of all coalition personnel" in Iraq and Syria, he said.

Marine Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Pentagon spokesman, said Turkey must prioritize the fight against the Islamic State.

"We recognize the threat the PKK poses to Turkey, but Turkey cannot pursue that fight at the expense of our common fight against terrorists that threaten us all," Rankine-Galloway said, using the initials for the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

The U.S. sees Syria's Kurdish fighters as the most effective ground forces battling the Islamic State. Turkey says they're an extension of the Workers' Party and that its fighters are finding sanctuaries in Iraq and Syria.

Information for this article was contributed by Maamoun Youssef, Hashem Osseiran, Matthew Lee and Lolita C. Baldor of The Associated Press.

A Section on 04/26/2017

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