BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 18 Kurdish YPG fighters and media officials were killed in Turkish air strikes on a headquarters of the militia in northeastern Syria on Tuesday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The YPG, a U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic State, did not immediately give its own precise death toll.

Turkey’s military bombed the YPG and Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq early on Tuesday, widening a campaign against groups affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).</s>Turkey hits PKK targets in Iraq, Syria

ANKARA

The Turkish military has carried out air strikes against the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants near Iraq's Sinjar mountains and northeastern Syria to prevent the group from sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey, it said on April 24.The two regions have become “terror hubs,” the Turkish military said, with the PKK frequently using these areas to channel militants, weapons, bombs and ammunition into Turkey, according to Ankara.“To destroy these terror hubs which threaten the security, unity and integrity of our country and our nation and as part of our rights based on international law, air strikes have been carried out … and terrorist targets have been struck with success,” the Turkish army said in a statement.The air bombardment was carried out around 2 a.m. local time on April 25, it added.Anadolu Agency said air fleets Korsan (Pirate) and Pars (Leopard) conducted the strike. Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Air Force Commander Abidin Ünal watched the strikes supported by tanker planes at an operation base.President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has for months said the PKK has taken a foothold in Sinjar region in Iraq’s northwest, around 115 kilometers from the Turkish border, and that Ankara would not allow the group to expand its activities there.The strikes in Syria targeted the YPG – the armed wing of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) and a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the United States. The U.S.’ NATO ally and partner in operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Turkey, sees the PYD and the YPG as terrorists linked to the PKK and calls on international community to cut any ties with these groups.Salih Müslim, the co-chair of the PYD, called on the anti-ISIL coalition to make a call on Turkey.“Turkey jets cannot fly there without the permission of the coalition,” Russia’s Sputnik agency quoted him as saying.The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Malikiya had been hit, including a media center, a local radio station, communications facilities and military institutions.The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group which tracks violence using sources on the ground, said at least 18 YPG fighters had been killed in the strikes.Turkey’s warplanes have regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a ceasefire broke down in July 2015, but it is the first time it has targeted its affiliate in the Sinjar region.General Seme Bosali, a Kurdish commander in Sinjar, claimed that the air strike had killed five Kurdish peshmerga fighters. It appeared to be a mistake, he said, as the peshmerga forces are not hostile to Turkey.The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq called on the PKK to withdraw its fighters from Sinjar.Iraq’s Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a “violation against Iraq’s sovereignty” and called on the international community to put an end to such “interferences” by Turkey.“Any operation that is carried out by Turkish government without any coordination with the Iraqi government is totally rejected,” Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Ahmad Jamal, told The Associated Press.He warned against a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, saying it won’t “bring a solution, but will instead complicate the issue and destabilize northern Iraq.”</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq's Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

ISTANBUL/BEIRUT: Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq's Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

A Turkish military statement said around 70 militants were killed in the operations inside the two neighbouring states.

The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG, a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the United States and have been closing in on the Islamic State bastion of Raqqa.

The Turkish raids showed the challenges facing U.S.-led attempts to defeat Islamic State in Syria and risk increasing tension between NATO allies Washington and Ankara over Kurdish combatants who have been crucial in driving back the jihadists.

In Washington, the State Department said it was deeply concerned by the air strikes, which were not authorized by the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Turkey is part of the coalition of more than 60 countries.

"We have expressed those concerns with the government of Turkey directly," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on a conference call. "These air strikes were not approved by the coalition and led to the unfortunate loss of life of our partner forces," he added.

Toner said the strikes hurt the coalition's efforts to go after the militants. "We recognise their concerns about the PKK, but these kinds of actions frankly harm the coalition's efforts to go after ISIS and frankly harm our partners on the ground who are conducting that fight."

A U.S. military officer accompanied YPG commanders on a tour of the sites hit near Syria's frontier with Turkey later on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, demonstrating the close partnership.

The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Syria's frontier with Turkey had been hit, including a media centre, a radio station, communications facilities and military institutions.

"As a result of the barbaric strikes by the Turkish warplanes at dawn today against the YPG centre ... 20 fighters were martyred and 18 others wounded, three of them critically," said spokesman Redur Xelil.

Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish politician who co-chairs the political wing of the SDF, said they wanted the United States to provide aerial protection against Turkey.

The Turkish military said the two regions it struck around 2 a.m. (2300 GMT) had become "terror hubs" and the aim of the bombardment was to prevent the PKK sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey.

Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them Kurds.

Turkish security sources said 13 PKK militants had been killed on Tuesday in operations backed by the air force in the largely Kurdish southeast of Turkey. Two Turkish soldiers were also killed when a roadside bomb planted by the PKK blew up in Sirnak province.

Turkey has regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a ceasefire broke down in July 2015. But Tuesday's raid was the first time Turkish forces have targeted its affiliate in the northwestern Sinjar area.

The PKK established a presence in Sinjar, bordering Syria, after coming to the aid of its Yazidi population when Islamic State militants overran the area in the summer of 2014 and killed and captured thousands of members of the minority faith.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he will not allow Sinjar, around 115 km (70 miles) from the Turkish border, to become a "new Qandil", referring to a PKK stronghold in Iraq near the borders with Turkey and Iran.

The presence of a PKK affiliate in Sinjar is also rejected by Kurdish authorities who run their own autonomous region in northern Iraq and enjoy good relations with Turkey.

Five members of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, which are also deployed in Sinjar, were killed, and nine wounded in one of the Turkish air strikes, according to the peshmerga ministry, apparently by accident.

It called the attack "unacceptable" but blamed the PKK for being there and demanded the group withdraw from Sinjar.</s>Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq’s Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

A Turkish military statement said about 70 militants were killed in the operations inside the two neighbouring states.

The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG, a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the US and have been closing in on the Islamic State bastion of Raqqa.

The Turkish raids showed the challenges facing US-led attempts to defeat Islamic State, also known as Isis, in Syria and risk increasing tension between Nato allies Washington and Ankara over Kurdish combatants who have been crucial in driving back the jihadists.

A US military officer accompanied YPG commanders on a tour of the sites hit near Syria’s frontier with Turkey later on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, demonstrating the close partnership.

The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Syria’s frontier with Turkey had been hit, including a media centre, a local radio station, communications facilities and military institutions.

“As a result of the barbaric strikes by the Turkish warplanes at dawn today against the YPG centre . . . 20 fighters were martyred and 18 others wounded, three of them critically,” said spokesman Redur Xelil.

Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish politician who co-chairs the political wing of the SDF, said they wanted the US to provide aerial protection against Turkey.

The Turkish military said the two regions it struck around 2am (11pm GMT) had become “terror hubs” and the aim of the bombardment was to prevent the PKK sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey.

Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the European Union, the PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them Kurds.

Turkish security sources said 13 PKK militants had been killed on Tuesday in operations backed by the air force in the largely Kurdish southeast of Turkey. Two Turkish soldiers were also killed when a roadside handmade bomb planted by the PKK blew up in Sirnak province.

Turkey has regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a ceasefire broke down in July 2015. But Tuesday’s raid was the first time Turkish forces have targeted its affiliate in the northwestern Sinjar area.

The PKK established a presence in Sinjar, bordering Syria, after coming to the aid of its Yazidi population when Islamic State militants overran the area in the summer of 2014 and killed and captured thousands of members of the minority faith.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will not allow Sinjar, around 115km (70 miles) from the Turkish border, to become a “new Qandil”, referring to a PKK stronghold in Iraq near the borders with Turkey and Iran.

The presence of a PKK affiliate in Sinjar is also rejected by Kurdish authorities who run their own autonomous region in northern Iraq and enjoy good relations with Turkey.

Five members of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, which are also deployed in Sinjar, were killed, and nine wounded in one of the Turkish air strikes, according to the peshmerga ministry, apparently by accident.

It called the attack “unacceptable” but blamed the PKK for being there and demanded the group withdraw from Sinjar.</s>ANKARA (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said Turkish planes carried out a large-scale attack on its headquarters in northeast Syria near the town of Derik in the Qerecox mountains, targeting a media center, a local radio station and some military buildings as well as killing several YPG members. Kurdish media also said Iraq's town of Sinjar was hit by Turkish jets, with over a dozen Peshmerga troops killed. Turkey was said to have targeted a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) base in the region.

"Iraqi Sinjar and Syria's Qerecox have become a layer for the PKK and its affiliates, which are carrying out terrorist attacks and are attacking our troops [and] civilians. Aiming to wipe out these havens that are threatening the unity of our nation and the unity and security of the country, we carried out an aerial operation in Sinjar in the north of Iraq and in northeast Syria at 00:00 GMT on April 25. Terrorist targets were hit," the General Staff said in a statement.

Turkish forces will continue fighting terrorism both inside the country and beyond its borders, the statement added.

Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed after a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has repeatedly said the Turkish forces will prevent PKK militants from securing a base in Sinjar. The PKK already has a base located in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq. The standoff then spread into Syria, with Turkish forces hitting the YPG a number of times since the start of the Euphrates Shield operation, without having received consent from Damascus.</s>On Tuesday morning Turkish air strikes targeted Kurdish forces on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq.

According to initial reports, the Turkish Air Force struck at bases used by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its ally, the Yazidi Shingal Protection Units.

However, the attack also killed five Kurdish Peshmerga – the armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government – and injured nine others The PKK’s presence in Sinjar threatens to undermine the regional government from its perspective, and specifically from that of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP .

In a paper published on April 12 by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Fabrice Balanche argued that Sinjar could be a strategic necessity for the Kurdish Rojava region of Syria as a corridor for trade to Iraq and Iran. The argument is part of a larger narrative that sees Iranian designs on Sinjar as part of its “Shia crescent” linking Tehran with Syria. In this sense, Turkey’s bombing could be part of a large regional contest for Sinjar.

The reality on the ground is more tragic, with thousands of Yazidi refugees on Sinjar Mountain still taking shelter, since some 5,000 Yazidis were murdered by Islamic State in 2014, and hundreds of thousands wish to return home to Sinjar. But they want infrastructure and security.

The Turkish intervention adds to the tensions and makes return difficult.

Turkey is also sending a deeper message to the US in Syria. While the US may conquer Raqqa with the SDF, the Turkey wants to show that they will act with impunity against the PKK or YPG in Syria or Iraq, overflying US forces to do so if needed.

The Turkish intervention in Sinjar has been six months in the making.

In October 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Sinjar will “not be a new Qandil.”

Qandil is a mountaineous area of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq where the PKK has camps and where Turkey carried out air strikes as part of its war with the PKK. Turkey has maintained small military bases in northern Iraq since the 1990s and uses them to carry out raids against the PKK.

To understand what is happening in northern Iraq we need to keep in mind several things. Turkey rekindled its war with the PKK in 2015, which has led to city-wide curfews in Kurdish towns and an estimated 2,400 deaths, including hundreds members of the Turkish military and more than 1,000 PKK members who are viewed by Turkey as terrorists.

The PKK have been fighting Turkey for decades and have set up bases across the border in northern Iraq.

The leading Kurdish party in the KRG, the KDP, loathes the PKK, which it fought a war in the 1990s.

The KRG’s economy is heavily linked to Turkey and the KDP enjoys relatively warm relations with Turkey.

When KRG President Massoud Barzani visited Turkey in February, the Turks placed the Kurdish flag at the meeting. This was a signal to Baghdad that Turkey supports the Kurdish autonomous region. The Kurdish region is seeking independence via a referendum this year and it needs international support, as does its powerful neighbor to the north. During the war with ISIS, Turkey established a military base alongside Peshmerga forces at Bashiqa, because Ankara wants to protect Sunnis and Turkmen in northern Iraq and it was working with the KRG.

When ISIS invaded northern Iraq, one of its most heinous acts was the attack on Sinjar in August 2014, in which it massacred members of the Yazidi minority and enslaved thousands of Yazidi women. Survivors fled to the mountain. During the fighting many Yazidis were saved when the PKK and members of the YPG intervened from Syria and opened a corridor to Sinjar, preventing ISIS from killing more people.

This created a situation in which the PKK and the YBS Yazidi militia held parts of western Sinjar and some areas along the Syrian border, while the KRG’s Peshmerga counter-attacked from the east.

When ISIS was forced out of most of Sinjar in December 2015, the divisions remained. Each side recruited local Yazidis into military units. By March of 2017, many Yazidis had joined the Peshmerga, but there were also clashes between the Peshmerga and the YBS and PKK.

The Peshmerga in Sinjar are partly made up of Syrian Kurds, which makes for a strange mix, because the PKK in Sinjar often receive their supplies and support often via Syria, where they enjoy warm relations with the YPG. In this conflict, borders between Syria, Iraq and Turkey are sometimes blurred.

The larger context is that the US-led coalition is supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces to take Raqqa from ISIS in Syria, which could be frustrated by greater Turkish intervention in Iraq and Syria.

The SDF are affiliated with the YPG.

Turkey also launched air strikes against YPG bases in Derik in Syria on Tuesday.

From a regional view, these are all the same conflict. Turkey sees itself as fighting the PKK in Turkey, Iraq and Syria. For Turkey, the YPG, SDF and YBS are all part of the larger PKK umbrella.

In a region of incredible instability, with the remnants of ISIS being slowly defeated and numerous players seeking a role in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, the Sinjar air strikes add to a combustible mix.</s>ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on Tuesday against suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq and in northeastern Syria, the military said, in a bid to prevent militants from smuggling fighters and weapons into Turkey.

The attack killed at least 18 Syrian Kurdish troops, according to a monitoring group, as well as five members of the Iraqi Kurdish militia known as the peshmerga and drew swift condemnation from Baghdad.

Syrian Kurdish forces said the strikes hit a media center, a local radio station, a communication headquarters and some military posts, killing an undetermined number of fighters in Syria’s northeastern Hassakeh province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian war, also reported the strikes on the media and military targets in Karachok.

According to the Observatory, the airstrikes killed 18 members of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG. The Observatory had earlier said only three were killed. Kurdish officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ankara says members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, are finding sanctuaries in neighboring Iraq and Syria, among those countries’ own Kurdish minorities.

A Turkish military statement said the pre-dawn strikes hit targets on the Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and also in 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.

A Turkish security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government protocol, said the airstrikes are believed to have killed around 200 Kurdish militants, including some senior commanders. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a “violation against Iraq’s sovereignty” and called on the international community to put an end to such “interferences” by Turkey.

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

He warned against a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, saying it won’t “bring a solution, but will instead complicate the issue and destabilize northern Iraq.”

Although Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against PKK 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 PKK rebels.

Sinjar Mayor Mahma Khalil said the strikes started at around 2:30 a.m. and killed five members of Iraqi Kurdish forces known as peshmerga, and wounded nine. Khalil said he was not aware if there were casualties among PKK troops.

Last year, Turkey sent troops into Syria to back Syrian opposition fighters in the battle against the Islamic State group and also to curb what is perceives as the territorial expansion of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, which it claims are affiliated with the PKK. The Kurdish group, which has led an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984, is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies.

In its statement, the military vowed to press ahead with operations against the PKK both inside Turkey and across its borders until the “last terrorist is eliminated.”

The Syrian Kurdish forces denounced Tuesday’s strikes on their positions as “treacherous,” accusing Turkey of undermining the anti-terrorism fight.

Aside from aspirations for autonomy, the Kurdish group in Syria is part of the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State militants who seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in 2014. Since then, the IS has suffered major setbacks at the hands of the coalition, losing large chunks of the territory the Sunni militant group once held. The Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, are closing in on IS de facto capital, the city of Raqqa.

“By this attack, Turkey is trying to undermine Raqqa operation, give (IS) time to reorganize and put in danger lives of thousands of” displaced, the YPG said on its Twitter account.

Associated Press Writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.</s>Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on Tuesday against suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq and in northeastern Syria, the military said, in a bid to prevent militants from smuggling fighters and weapons into Turkey.

A Syrian Kurdish militia force said the strikes hit a media center, a local radio station, a communication headquarters and some military posts, killing an undetermined number of fighters in Syria's northeastern Hassakeh province.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian war, also reported the strikes on the media and military targets in Karachok, adding that an airstrike killed three members of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Ankara says members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, are finding sanctuaries in neighboring Iraq and Syria, among those countries' own Kurdish minorities.

A Turkish military statement said the pre-dawn strikes hit targets on the Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and also in 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.

A Turkish security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government protocol, said the airstrikes are believed to have killed around 200 Kurdish militants, including some senior commanders. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Although Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against PKK 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 PKK rebels.

Last year, Turkey sent troops into Syria to back Syrian opposition fighters in the battle against the Islamic State group and also to curb what is perceives as the territorial expansion of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, which it claims are affiliated with the PKK. The Kurdish group, which has led an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984, is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies.

In its statement, the military vowed to press ahead with operations against the PKK both inside Turkey and across its borders until the "last terrorist is eliminated."

The Syrian Kurdish forces denounced Tuesday's strikes on their positions as "treacherous," accusing Turkey of undermining the anti-terrorism fight.

Aside from aspirations for autonomy, the Kurdish group in Syria is part of the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State militants who seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in 2014. Since then, the IS has suffered major setbacks at the hands of the coalition, losing large chunks of the territory the Sunni militant group once held. The Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, are closing in on IS de facto capital, the city of Raqqa.

"By this attack, Turkey is trying to undermine Raqqa operation, give (IS) time to reorganize and put in danger lives of thousands of" displaced, the YPG said on its Twitter account.

Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.</s>Turkey has carried out a wave of airstrikes against Kurdish fighters in Iraq and northern Syria, further complicating Washington’s effort to rally Kurds and Turks in the fight against the Islamic State (Isil).

Turkey’s military said the strikes were aimed at the PKK Kurdish terrorist group, which regularly carries out attacks against Turkey. Two weeks ago the group took credit for a bombing at a police station which killed three people.

But the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria and the Peshmerga forces in Iraq both said their forces had been targeted in the Turkish strikes. Both the YPG and the Peshmerga are US allies fighting on the front lines against Isil.</s>Early Tuesday morning, a wave of Turkish airstrikes reportedly struck a headquarters building used by the Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Syria. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 18 YPG fighters and media officials were killed in the attack.

Turkey also conducted airstrikes in the Sinjar region of Iraq, ostensibly aimed at the militant Kurdish separatists of the PKK. However, Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq – another key U.S. military ally against the Islamic State – also said the Turks hit their positions, killing five of their troops.

The YPG released a statement saying its headquarters in Mount Karachok near the Syria-Turkey border was hit by Turkish planes, damaging a media center, radio broadcast facilities, and military installations.

The YPG described Turkey’s attack as “treacherous” and “barbaric” and even accused the Turks of attempting to undermine the planned offensive against Raqqa, the Syrian capital of the Islamic State. Critics of Turkey have accused it of tacitly supporting ISIS against the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria and of covertly profiting from trade with the Islamic State.

Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim asked the United States to defend them against further Turkish strikes. “A people that is fighting terrorism is being stabbed in the back. Coalition forces must not remain silent against this. No one should accept these attacks,” Muslim said.

The Turkish military said these airstrikes were intended to stop the PKK from smuggling weapons into Turkey. A statement from the military described the targets as “terrorists” and “terror hubs.” According to the Turkish military, 70 militants were killed in the airstrikes.

The PKK recently claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a police compound in southeastern Turkey that killed three people. The attackers dug a tunnel beneath the compound to plant what they described as “more than 2.5 tonnes of explosives.”

Turkey accuses other Kurdish forces, particularly the YPG in Syria, of being in league with the PKK. The PKK does have a presence in the Sinjar region, in part because it came to the aid of the Yazidi minority when ISIS tried to exterminate them. The PKK has been training and arming Yazidis to fight the Islamic State and has said it will not withdraw from Sinjar until Yazidi forces control the area.

The Kurdish administration has been urging Yazidis to join the Peshmerga and other militia units instead of the PKK. Peshmerga commanders have asked the PKK to withdraw from the area.

This is a difficult conflict for the United States to negotiate. On the one hand, Turkey is a NATO member and an important regional ally the U.S. is nervous about alienating. The U.S. classifies the PKK as a terrorist organization, just as Turkey does. On the other hand, the Peshmerga and YPG are crucial American battlefield allies against the Islamic State. The Peshmerga and YPG have also clashed among themselves, even while both cooperate with the United States.

American military officials reportedly visited the Mount Karachok region by helicopter on Tuesday to assess the damage from Turkey’s airstrikes. Turkey’s Daily Sabah, which has a pro-government bent, began its report on the visit by matter-of-factly stating the YPG is an “offshoot” of the PKK terrorist group and said banners depicting jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan can be seen in the background of photos that showed U.S. officials walking with YPG representatives.

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria issued a statement encouraging all forces in the region 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.”

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry denounced Turkey’s strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, warned that a larger Turkish cross-border military incursion would “destabilize northern Iraq,” and asked the international community to block further “interference” by Turkey.
Turkish air strikes kill 18 Kurdish YPG fighters and media officials in northeastern Syria. Also five Peshmerga fighters are killed during a Turkish attack on Sinjar in Iraq. Turkey also claims to have destroyed "terror hubs". Iraq denounces the strike as a violation of its sovereignty.