US warns Turkey against disrupting anti-jihadist mission in Syria
World
US warned Turkey not to disrupt operations by US and Kurdish forces against jihadists in Syria.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Friday warned Turkey not to disrupt operations by US and Kurdish forces against jihadists in Syria, while acknowledging Ankara s security concerns in the volatile region.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Turkish bombing of Kurdish-controlled areas in northeast Syria continues.
The Turkish government says it is taking military action in response to a terrorist attack in Istanbul that it blames on Kurdish groups. The Kurds deny responsibility.
"They continue to conduct airstrikes," Kirby said, adding there was no evidence yet of a threatened ground operation across the Turkish-Syrian border, where US troops deploy alongside the Kurdish-led SDF force.
Kirby said that while "Turkey does have a right to defend itself," the operations carry a heavy risk.
"We recognize their legitimate security concerns to defend themselves," he said.
"What we don t want to see are operations in Syria that, again, could cause civilian casualties, could cause casualties of our personnel and could distract our SDF partners from a very real and very important mission ongoing against ISIS," he added, using an acronym for the Islamic State group (IS).
Washington does not "want to see anything that would affect our ability to continue to put the pressure" on IS, Kirby said.
He noted that the "strategic level" of cooperation with SDF forces was not in danger.
However, Turkish offensives against the SDF meant the Kurdish forces would typically be "less willing to continue to contributing to counter ISIS" on a day-to-day basis.
"That is a concern," he said.
- Civilian killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkey -
A civilian was killed and another one wounded Friday in Iraq s autonomous Kurdistan region in an attack likely carried out by Turkey, a local official said.
The pair were working on their land near the village of Mawat when they were killed in a bombardment "likely carried out by Turkey", the town s mayor Kamaran Hassan told AFP.
A third person has been listed as missing, he said, adding that he could not specify whether a drone or warplane had launched the strike.
Turkey has repeatedly carried out strikes targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, where the group has bases.
Ankara stepped up its strikes in neighbouring Syria following a November 13 bombing in Istanbul that killed six people and wounded 81.
Ankara blamed that attack on the PKK, which it and its Western allies consider a terrorist group.
The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Kurdish groups denied any involvement in the Ankara blast.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch a ground offensive against Kurds, namely in northern and northeastern Syria, in response to the Istanbul bombing.
Since 2016, Turkey s military has conducted three offensives mostly targeting Kurdish fighters in Syria, and captured territory in northern Syria now held by Ankara-backed proxies.
There has been no immediate comment from Turkey about Friday s bombardment.
