Turkey strikes Kurds in Iraq, Syria, drawing condemnation
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 group, which is allied with Kurdish factions in both countries.
The Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, said 20 of its fighters were killed and 18 wounded. The YPG is a close U.S. ally against IS but is seen by Ankara 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.
YPG 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.