Turkish airstrike kills members of US-backed Kurdish force in Syria
A Turkish airstrike has killed four members of a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force.
Four members of a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force were killed in a Turkish air attack on the town of Tal Tamar Thursday, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces, part of an escalating multi-pronged campaign against Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq.
The SDF said the attack occurred at 6 p.m. local time and targeted the Tal Tamer Military Council headquarters.
Ankara insists the male and female Kurds fighting within the SDF ranks pose an existential threat to Turkey because of their connections to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting for self-rule in Turkey. The insurgency that was launched in 1984, initially for Kurdish independence, has claimed at least 40,000 lives, most of them rebels.
Top SDF commander Mazlum Kobane has repeatedly said he wants peaceful relations with Turkey. However Turkey calls Kobane a “terrorist” and has placed a bounty on his head.
