Turkey Prez Erdogan vows action as 2 police officers killed in terror attacks in Syria

On Monday, October 11, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to take the necessary actions in Syria the earliest following the latest attack by Kurdish fighters which led to the death of two Turkish police officers. He said that Turkey has run out of patience and is now committed to eliminating dangers emanating from northern Syria, either in collaboration with forces on the ground or with its own resources, reported The Associated Press (AP). Erdogan's remarks come a day after two Turkish police officers were murdered in an attack in Aleppo city by a guided missile. The missile was reportedly launched on their armoured vehicle. Turkish officials blamed the attack on the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, a militia that Ankara sees as a Syrian offshoot of outlawed Kurdish terrorists fighting Turkish government forces. 

Since the early 1980s, the Turkish government has been fighting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK has been fighting for the creation of an independent Kurdish state and has also been labelled a terrorist organisation by Ankara. Meanwhile, both sides agreed to a ceasefire in 2013, but it was broken barely two years later after many terror strikes allegedly carried out by PKK terrorists. In 2018, Turkey and allied Syrian fighters seized control of Afrin, expelling local Kurdish fighters and displacing thousands of Kurdish residents. Since then, the town has been the target of numerous car bombings that have mostly gone unnoticed, according to news agency Sputnik. It should be mentioned here that Ankara has carried out three major operations in Syria: Operation Euphrates Shield (2016-2017), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

'Turkish troops capture a significant Kurdish insurgent stronghold in northern Iraq'

Meanwhile, on October 4, Turkey's Defense Ministry announced that Turkish troops had captured a significant Kurdish insurgent stronghold in northern Iraq. The operation "neutralised" 12 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, according to the ministry. The operation reportedly took place in a zone close to the Turkish border where three Turkish soldiers were killed in August. The ministry further added that the PKK's "eastern headquarter" was captured in a major blow to the organisation, according to The AP. It is worth mentioning here that in April this year, Turkey launched its most recent air and ground operations in northern Iraq in an effort to limit the PKK's capacity to launch cross-border attacks.

Image: AP