In setback, Syrian peace talks not to resume next week

Turkish soldiers carry the national flag-draped coffin of Sergeant First Class Feyyaz Ilhan, killed in Ankara’s explosion Wednesday, during his funeral in Bursa, northeastern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) said the bombing was in response to the policies of President Tayyip Erdogan and said it would continue its attacks.

However, the TAK statement said the bomber, who died in the attack, was born in 1989 in Van in eastern Turkey.

A Kurdish group claimed responsibility for the Ankara Bombing contradicting government claims that leftist Kurdish guerilla group PKK was behind it.

The group once was linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, also known as the PKK, which has been engaged in a decadeslong war with the Turkish state.

The leader of the main Syrian Kurdish group, Salih Muslim, denied his group was behind the bombing, and warned Turkey against taking ground action in Syria. The victims included both civilians and military personnel. The official told reporters in Istanbul that “without ground operations it is impossible to stop the fighting in Syria” and that Turkey has pressed the issue in recent discussions with the US and other Western nations.

Turkey had significantly escalated its fight against Kurdish groups prior to the bombing, with Turkish T-155 Firtina self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) shelling YPG targets in Syria close to the Turkish border from 13 February.

But Washington relies heavily on the Syrian Democratic Union Party, or PYD, and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, in the battle against the Islamic State group and has rejected Turkish pressure. Nine people have reportedly been detained in relation to the attack.

Ahmet Davutoglu said a man named Sahih Neccar carried out the attack in cooperation with Turkey’s own outlawed Kurdish rebel group.

Davutoglu said Syria’s government, which he accused of backing Syrian Kurdish militias, is also to blame.

SDF gains in the area south of Azzaz triggered several days of Turkish shelling, mainly targeting areas recently captured by the group.

That’s according to the Anadalou Agency, which also quotes Davutoglu warning Russian Federation against helping the YPG: “All those who intend to use terror pawns against Turkey must know that [playing] this game of terror will hit them like a boomerang”.