Kurdish dilemma: The US could hurt Turkey if it’s not careful

The pro-government newspaper Sabah said the man was linked to the PKK, which has been fighting for autonomy for Kurds in Turkey’s southeast region.

The Syrian Kurdish PYD, or Democratic Union Party, denied involvement in Wednesday’s attack, which targeted a convoy outside a military barracks – stating the group does not consider Turkey as an enemy.

The attack came a day after a auto bomb killed at least 28 people and wounded 61 others in Ankara. “No attack against Turkey has been left unanswered”, he added.

Ambassadors of the UN Security Council’s member states to Turkey have visited the country’s foreign ministry, Anadolu Agency reported February 18.

A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for a auto bomb attack in the Turkish capital Ankara which killed 28 people Wednesday.

Turkey was quick to classify the blast as a terrorist attack and placed the blame on a member of YPG, the Kurdish fighting force in Syria, and PKK members operating in Turkey.

Turkish officials, who are concerned Kurdish rebels in Syria have emboldened militants at home, said early on that the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – a Syria-based Kurdish group – was responsible.

The Syrian Kurdish militia, YPG, is not proscribed as a terrorist group by the West, who has supported them against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The Iranian official and government-supported media, however, have published similar false news before.

The TAK has said that it severed links with the PKK.

Washington’s support of the YPG in the fight against Islamic State in Syria has enraged Ankara, which fears advances by the Kurdish militia in northern Syria would stoke separatism among its own Kurdish minority.

According to Turkish presidency’s statement, Obama also emphasized on his country’s determination to back Turkey’s national security and its right of self-defense.

“There can be no justification for such horrific acts”, Stoltenberg said in a statement Wednesday. The commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal military secrets, said a mixed coalition of rebel fighters were permitted to pass into Turkey and enter Syria again in order to prevent the city of Azzaz from falling into SDF hands. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Responding to Turkish bombardment of US-backed Kurdish and Arab SDF forces in northern Aleppo over the weekend, US Vice President Joe Biden previously urged “Turkey to show reciprocal restraint by ceasing artillery strikes in the area”.