Most Turks welcome army’s incursion into Kurdish-controlled northern Syria

ISTANBUL — At a smoke-filled coffee shop in central Istanbul on Wednesday, customers kept one eye on their playing cards and another on a television broadcasting footage of the Turkish military’s incursion into northern Syria. To a man, the crowded room was unanimous in its approval of the operation aimed at thwarting Kurdish militants.

“The state has to fight terrorism at the root,” said Cengiz, 53, a retired hotel worker who did not give his last name. “Hopefully, it will end quickly and we won’t lose many soldiers. But we are prepared to pay the price.”