Turkiye to strike targets in northern Syria after Istanbul attack

Turkiye plans to strike targets in northern Syria after it completes a cross-border operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq, a senior official told Reuters yesterday, in retaliation for a deadly weekend bomb in Istanbul.

A senior Turkish official said threats posed by Kurdish militants or Islamic State are unacceptable, adding that Ankara will clear threats along its southern border “one way or another”.

“Syria is a national security problem for Turkiye. There is work being done on this already,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“There is an ongoing operation against the PKK in Iraq. There are certain targets in Syria after that is completed.”

There was no immediate comment from Turkiye’s foreign ministry.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast on the busy pedestrian avenue; both the PKK and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have denied involvement.

Police have detained 50 people as part of the investigation into the blast, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag was quoted as saying by state-owned Anadolu Agency yesterday.

The suspected bomber, a Syrian woman named Ahlam Albashir, was detained early on Monday at a house raid in Istanbul.

The Turkish Security Directorate said Monday, that Albashir has received training to become an intelligence agent by a terrorist organisation in northern Syria.

“Investigations confirmed that she had received instructions to carry out the attack from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the city of Ayn Al-Arab [Kobane] in the countryside of Aleppo, northern Syria,” it added.

Source: Middleeastmonitor