Turkey declares intention to continue operation in North Syria, Iraq
Turkey wants to continue shelling Syria and Iraq and violate their rule of law as Russia underlines the importance of respecting the agreements about Syria.
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Smoke rises over Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the town of Suruc (Reuters)
Turkey is planning to continue its military operation aimed at "eliminating terrorist bases" in northern Iraq and Syria, the country's foreign ministry said on Thursday following a phone call between Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu with his finish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto.
"Today, November 24, Minister Cavusoglu also underlined that our fight against terrorism will decisively be continued under operation Claw-Sword," the ministry told Sputnik.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said earlier in the week that Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Syria and northern Iraq and destroyed 89 targets.
In a statement, the ministry said the strikes targeted bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the People's Defense Units (YPG), which Turkey says is a wing of the PKK.
Ankara also explained that the air strikes were carried out in Qandil, Asos, and Hakurk in Iraq and Kobani, Tal Rifat, Cizire, and Derik in Syria.
It claimed that the 89 targets destroyed included shelters, tunnels, and ammunition depots, indicating that "many terrorists were neutralized," including "so-called directors of the terrorist organization."
Sputnik reported, citing local sources, that three Syrian soldiers were killed in airstrikes carried out by Turkish forces in the northern Syrian province of Al-Hasakah.
"Three Syrian Arab Army soldiers were killed and several were wounded in Turkish airstrikes on a number of villages in the Al-Hasakah province," the sources said.
The Syrian Defense Ministry confirmed media reports, adding that there were losses among Syrian military personnel as a result of Ankara's airstrikes in Aleppo and Al-Hasakah provinces.
The Turkish foreign ministry further said the phone call between Cavusoglu and his Finnish counterpart, in which they discussed the enlargement, as well as recent developments in Ukraine and the UN-brokered grain deal between Moscow and Kiev aimed at facilitating the shipment of grain from the Ukrainian ports.
Complying with Syria agreement important
Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Aka, during a phone call with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, claimed that Ankara's priority in northern Syria was preventing terrorist threats, with both parties complying with the agreements.
"In the context of Syria, Minister Akar emphasized that the necessary response had been and would be given against the intensifying persecution and attacks aimed at destabilizing the stability in the region, and actions directed against Turkish civilian settlements and citizens," the Turkish military said in a statement.
"According to him, preventing the terrorist threat and neutralizing terrorist organizations is the country's top priority," the statement added.
The two top officials also underlined that it was important to respect the agreements previously reached on Syria in light of Turkey's offensives in the country's north.
The United States, the country occupying parts of Syria and left Iraq in shambles after an occupation that lasted nearly two decades, condemned the Turkish airstrikes on the two countries.
The spokesperson for the US Department of Defense stated that the US continues to disapprove of any military intervention that would "destabilize Syria or violate Iraq's sovereignty" through military engagements that are not coordinated with the Iraqi government.
It is of note that the US currently occupies oil-rich regions in Syria in violation of international law.
The persistent war against ISIS and its prevention from reemerging are among the key objectives that are jeopardized by Turkey's activities, the Pentagon spokesperson continued.
