Turkey steps up campaign against SDF's Kobane
Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazlum Kobane helped the United States track down and kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but Turkey claims he is of the same ilk.
Turkey has stepped up its campaign against Mazlum Kobane, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as part of a broader Turkish effort to deny the US-backed Syrian Kurds political legitimacy.
Ankara is equating Kobane, who is on Turkey’s most-wanted list, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS) who died in a US military raid in northwest Syria on Saturday.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said today that Kobane “is every bit a terrorist as slain Baghdadi.” The Justice Ministry has drawn up a request for his extradition along with one for his provisional arrest. The paperwork has been forwarded to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry.
The moves appear geared to prevent Kobane from traveling to Washington, where a group of congressmen led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are lobbying to arrange a meeting between the militia leader and President Donald Trump.
