Why is Turkey taking on Kurdish and Islamic State militants?
- 9 years ago
It was an attack last week that seemingly triggered Turkey’s unprecedented double battle against Kurdish and Islamic State militants.
32 people were killed in a suicide bombing in the mainly Turkish Kurd town of Suruç, an attack Turkey deemed to be a threat to its very integrity.
The Islamic State was allegedly behind the bombing Kurdish protesters however have also blamed the Turkish government for colluding with IS – a charge it denies.
In response, Kurdish rebels from the PKK said they were responsible for killing at least two police officers.
Casting the operations as a war on terrorist groups “without distinction”, Turkey launched air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria for the first time.
Additionally, it bombed PKK camps in northern Iraq for the first time in three years. Hundreds of suspected members of both groups have also been rounded up in raids across Turkey.
Some insiders have accused Turkey’s president of trying to seize an opportunity out of a
32 people were killed in a suicide bombing in the mainly Turkish Kurd town of Suruç, an attack Turkey deemed to be a threat to its very integrity.
The Islamic State was allegedly behind the bombing Kurdish protesters however have also blamed the Turkish government for colluding with IS – a charge it denies.
In response, Kurdish rebels from the PKK said they were responsible for killing at least two police officers.
Casting the operations as a war on terrorist groups “without distinction”, Turkey launched air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria for the first time.
Additionally, it bombed PKK camps in northern Iraq for the first time in three years. Hundreds of suspected members of both groups have also been rounded up in raids across Turkey.
Some insiders have accused Turkey’s president of trying to seize an opportunity out of a