Syrian Kurdish commander sparks fresh US-Turkish row
Mazlum Kobane, the chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, may visit Washington — a move that would likely prompt Turkish calls for his extradition.
As Turkey and the United States lurch from crisis to crisis, the latest flashpoint centers around Mazlum Kobane, commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led militia that crushed the Islamic State (IS) in Syria with US backing.
Turkey is furious that a group of congressmen, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have invited Kobane to Washington and are pressing the State Department to issue him a visa. Turkey calls Kobane a "terrorist" and has issued a red alert for his arrest via Interpol. Turkey has also placed a multimillion-lira bounty — with a value that shrinks alongside Turkey’s national currency — on his head.
