Does Turkey plan to continue airstrikes in Iraq, Syria?

Turkey's airstrikes on Kurdish regions in Syria and Iraq recently raised many an eyebrow around the globe. They left world leaders wondering if there will be more strikes and, if so, how the escalation will unfold. This article is a sequel to Amberin Zaman’s piece on April 25 that reflected the viewpoints of the United States, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Baghdad. This will focus on the perspectives of Ankara and Moscow, Ankara's strategic calculations behind the attacks and Moscow’s position on the events.

Early April 25, the Turkish air force carried out simultaneous air attacks on Iraq’s Sinjar region and on Mount Karachok near the northern Syrian town of al-Malikiyah. Thirty F-16 aircraft taking off from Malatya air base used 2,000-pound bombs equipped with GBU 10 Paveway II laser guidance to attack Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) forces at Sinjar and strike the command-control facilities, radio link station and media center in northern Syria belonging to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist group.