Solar Energy News
THE STANS
Turkey threatens to expand strikes in Syria, Iraq
Turkey threatens to expand strikes in Syria, Iraq
by AFP Staff Writers
Istanbul (AFP) Oct 4, 2023

Turkey warned Wednesday it could step up cross-border air strikes against Kurdish targets after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in Ankara came from Syria.

Turkey convened a top national security meeting to prepare its response to Sunday's attack.

Police shot dead one of the assailants while the other died in an apparent suicide blast outside Turkey's interior ministry that injured two security officers.

A branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies -- claimed responsibility for the first bombing to hit Ankara since 2016.

"As a result of the work of our security forces, it has become clear that the two terrorists came from Syria and were trained there," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in televised remarks.

"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 added.

"I recommend that third parties stay away from these facilities."

Turkey conducted air raids against PKK rear bases in the northern mountains of Iraq hours after Sunday's attack.

The defence ministry released fresh images Wednesday purporting to show PKK targets being hit in Iraq the night before.

Iraqi Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbasi was expected in Ankara on Thursday for talks with counterpart Yasar Guler as tensions soared.

- Kurdish suspect killed -

Fidan's comments suggest that Turkey could intensify its drone and artillery strikes in Syria.

Turkish media reported Wednesday that the MIT intelligence agency had conducted an operation in Syria killing one of the suspected masterminds of an Istanbul bombing that claimed six lives in November of last year.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that an "intelligence official" in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeastern Syria was killed on Tuesday.

Ankara has military bases and supports groups fighting both regime forces and the Kurds in Syria.

US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- the Kurds' de facto army in the area -- led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019.

But Turkey views the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the PKK.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a series of armed incursion into Syria and repeatedly threatened to expand attacks against the YPG.

Ankara on Tuesday also announced the detention of 67 suspected PKK members in raids across Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Sunday's attack coincided with the opening of a Turkish session of parliament during which lawmakers will be asked to ratify Sweden's membership of the NATO defence alliance.

Turkey's ratification has been held up by anger over the refusal by the Swedish police to ban marches by the PKK and their supporters in Stockholm.

Some analysts believe the PKK may be trying to block Turkey's ratification because it would herald an improvement in Ankara's ties with Washington.

Turkey has been trying to get the United States to drop its support for the SDF -- a policy shift Ankara may expect in return for its ratification of Sweden's membership, analysts say.

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
THE STANS
Paris 'has agreed' to deliver military equipment to Armenia: French minister
Yerevan (AFP) Oct 3, 2023
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on a visit to Armenia on Tuesday that Paris agreed to deliver military equipment to the small South Caucasus nation. Colonna travelled to Armenia after Azerbaijani forces last month swept through the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and secured the surrender of Armenian separatist forces that had controlled the mountainous region for decades. "France has given its agreement to the conclusion of future contracts with Armenia which will allow the ... read more

THE STANS
Aston University research pioneers making renewable hydrogen and propane fuel gases from glycerol

Lightning strike hits UK biogas facility

Is there more to palm oil than deforestation?

Making aviation fuel from biomass

THE STANS
Instant evolution: AI designs new robot from scratch in seconds

Finger-shaped sensor enables more dexterous robots

Can chatbots be therapists? Only if you want them to be

Is AI in the eye of the beholder?

THE STANS
Harvesting wind energy in small countries with low wind speed and limited

How wind turbines react to turbulence

Work starts on key German wind power energy line

No offshore wind in latest UK green energy auction

THE STANS
EU formally starts probe into Chinese electric cars subsidies

Vietnam EV maker VinFast reports jump in Q3 revenue

Swiss-led team drives electric vans from Geneva to Doha

Factory shutdowns hit Tesla's third quarter deliveries

THE STANS
Superconductivity at room temperature remains elusive

France taps nuclear know-how to recycle electric car batteries

New approach may help extract more heat from geothermal reservoirs

Warming up! 30 years of fusion-energy research at EPFL

THE STANS
China fosters new-generation nuclear power reactors

Chi-Nu experiment ends with data to support nuclear security, energy reactors

Bangladesh accepts first uranium for Russia-backed nuclear plant

Slovenia's nuclear plant shut down over leak

THE STANS
US offers no new cash to climate fund for developing world

NGOs urge G20 to speed up reforms for climate finance

Vietnam confirms arrest of energy think tank chief

Eurozone firms fret over stricter climate standards: survey

THE STANS
Younger trees champion carbon capture

Carbon-capture tree plantations threaten tropical biodiversity for little gain

Deforestation down in Brazil's Amazon

Boreal and temperate forests now main global carbon sinks

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.