Turkey claims to have struck Kurds in Syria: U.S. “can’t confirm”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey said it attacked Kurdish forces in Syria backed by the U.S., potentially setting the stage for a new fight with the Obama administration as it looks at increasing its ties with the Kurdish militants, the Wall Street Journal reports.

In a television interview Monday, October 26, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara carried out two strikes on the Kurdish YPG group as a warning to the fighters against expanding their control into parts of Syria that Turkish officials hope will serve as a safe zone for returning refugees—and as a base for Syrian militants backed by the government in Ankara.

“If the YPG moves to the West of river Euphrates, we will hit it,” Mr. Davutoglu said in the interview on Turkish television.

“We have already hit two times.” Turkey considers the river a “red line”.

Kurdish militants in the region said Turkish forces over the weekend struck Kurdish fighters controlling the strategic towns of Kobani and Tal Abyad in Syria, along Turkey’s border.

Davutoglu didn’t say which Kurdish targets were struck or when the attacks took place. But in acknowledging Turkish action against the YPG, the prime minister made clear that Turkey will oppose American efforts to deepen ties with Kurdish militants in Syria.

U.S. officials said they couldn’t confirm that Turkey had struck the Kurdish targets.

“In the meantime, we are working with Turkey, as well as many different groups within Syria, including Kurdish and Arab groups, to defeat ISIL,” said Pooja Jhunjhunwala, a State Dept. spokeswoman. “We will work with all parties to calm tensions so that we can focus on the common threat.”

A senior Kurdish official, Idres Nassan, said the YPG hadn’t made any moves in the region without coordinating with the U.S.-led coalition. “Our forces have not moved from the east bank of the river since they took over Tal Abyad [in June],” he said.