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Do Ankara, Damascus perceive common Kurdish threat?

Speculation about a possible deal between Turkey and the Syrian government has intensified after Syrian fighter jets bombed Kurdish targets in Hasakah.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carries his weapons as he walks along a street in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MEMQ
A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units carries his weapons as he walks along a street in the northeastern city of Hasakah, Syria, Aug. 21, 2016. — REUTERS/Rodi Said

Syria's multisided conflict — pitting rebels against government forces and the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) — took a further twist Aug. 17 when Syrian air force jets began pounding the Kurdish-controlled city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, targeting the US-backed Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG). At least 43 people, including 27 civilians, were reported to have died in the strikes that prompted thousands of Kurds to flee the city as Kurdish fighters and pro-government forces clashed on the ground. The clashes were continuing as of Aug. 22.

A YPG official contacted by Al-Monitor said the fighting was continuing and that it would not stop until “the regime is gone from Hasakah.”

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