ANKARA/ELBEYLI, Turkey, (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes pounded Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time yesterday, with President Tayyip Erdogan promising more decisive action against both the jihadists and Kurdish militants.
Hours after the initial attacks, fighter jets were launched in a second round against Islamic State, while others targeted militants camps of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, according to local media. Reuters was unable to confirm the second round of strikes. An attack against PKK camps in Iraq would likely mark a major blow to Turkey’s already stalled peace process with the Kurds.
Yesterday’s operations followed a telephone conversation between Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, and were accompanied by police raids across Turkey to detain hundreds of suspected militants, including from Kurdish groups.
Ankara said it had approved the use of its air bases by U.S. and coalition aircraft to mount strikes against Islamic State, marking a major change in policy that has long been a sore point for Washington.
Turkey has been a reluctant partner in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, emphasising instead the need to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and said Syrian Kurdish forces also pose a grave security threat.
Erdogan said the crack down against Islamic State would be in tandem with an attack on the PKK, which Ankara describes as a separatist organisation.