October 24, 2024 | Flash Brief
Turkey Strikes Kurdish Positions in Iraq and Syria After Blaming PKK for Attack in Ankara
October 24, 2024 | Flash Brief
Turkey Strikes Kurdish Positions in Iraq and Syria After Blaming PKK for Attack in Ankara
Latest Developments
The Turkish air force carried out 47 strikes on Kurdish targets in both Iraq and Syria overnight on October 23-24, according to statements by the country’s Ministry of National Defense. While Ankara claimed that in total “59 terrorists were neutralized,” the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a Kurdish-led opposition organization backed by the United States and other members of the NATO Alliance, to which Turkey also belongs — said that 12 civilians were killed and 25 others wounded during the bombing.
The air strikes were billed as retaliation for an attack on Wednesday that left five people dead at the Turkish Aerospace Industries headquarters in Ankara. The two assailants who carried out the attack were killed. While the Turkish government said that it was “very likely” that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) carried out the attack, it offered no public evidence.
As Turkey fights alleged terror threats, Ankara continues to lambaste Israel for its counterterrorism campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned ongoing Israel Defense Forces operations in southern Lebanon, asserting that “Lebanon and the Lebanese people are the new target of Israel’s policy of genocide, occupation and invasion that has been continuing since October 7.”
Expert Analysis
“Unsure which terrorist group carried out the October 22 Ankara terrorist attack on the state’s aerospace facility, the government is engaging in opportunism to target and bomb SDF targets in northern Syria. Is it possible that a fringe Kurdish separatist group carried out the attack? Yes. Is it also possible the attack was carried out by another entity? Yes. Since 2010, Turkey under Erdogan’s direction became a major transit hub and home for jihadist entities and their militants. Turkey doesn’t know who carried out the act because the government doesn’t know who is inside Turkey’s borders.” — Sinan Ciddi, FDD Non-Resident Senior Fellow
“Turkey continues to be hypocritical regarding how it claims to fight terrorism. Ankara hosts Hamas members and has refused to condemn the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel, while expecting support for what it bills as its own war on terror.” —Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow
Related Analysis
“How not to dethrone an authoritarian leader: The case of Turkey’s Erdoğan,” by Sinan Ciddi
“Turkey is committed to undermining NATO,” by Sinan Ciddi and Sophia Epley
“Risking New Rift With Western Allies, Turkey Pursues Membership of BRICS Bloc,” FDD Flash Brief
“Erdogan’s Turkey: Champion of Hamas, and an adversary of the West,” by Sinan Ciddi