Turkish official not exclude ground operation into northern Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A ground operation into Syria is one option Turkey could consider, a defense ministry official said on Thursday.
This came after Ankara announced that the perpetrators of the explosion in front of the Ministry of Interior building had come from Syria.
On Oct. 1, two individuals carried out a bomb attack in front of the building of the Ministry of Interior in Ankara injuring two police officers.
On Wednesday, Fidan claimed that the two assailants who carried out the attack had been trained in Syria. “From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces,” he threatened.
“Our only goal is to eliminate the terrorist organisations that pose a threat to Turkey. A ground operation is one of the options to eliminate this threat, but it is not the only option for us,” Reuters cited the Turkish official as saying.
On Thursday morning, Turkish drones struck seven sites in north and northeast Syria’s region that is run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
“The PKK and the YPG are the same terrorist organisation, they are our legitimate target everywhere. Turkey conducted operations whenever and wherever necessary in the past, and these operations will continue if needed again,” the defence ministry official added.
Turkey sees the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main branch of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). There are ongoing clashes between the Turkish forces and the PKK for over 40 years.
“These operations are being conducted under self-defence rights arising from international law to eliminate terrorist attacks on Turkish territory and to ensure border security,” the official noted.