Turkish military helicopters kill nine in strikes on PKK targets

The government says, however, it has evidence that a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia group carried out the attack in collaboration with Turkey’s own Kurdish rebels.

In comments to a parliamentary committee, Hammond said the Syrian Kurds were “an important part” of any peace deal in Syria but that collaboration with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and Russian Federation was making Britain “distinctly uneasy”.

Turkey asked the United States for unconditional support in the fight against the Syrian Kurdish YPG.

However John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, said that he was unable to confirm whether the image was authentic and that “nothing has changed about our policy of not providing the YPG with weapons”.

The Cobra attack helicopters launched the assault at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) as a group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters travelled through a mountainous area near the Idil district of Turkey’s Sirnak province, the sources said. Turkey is really concerned about the Kurds and they are supporting various other terrorist groups in Syria. “Believe me, I barely understand how clearly we can explain for our allies to understand that they are at a crossroads on this issue”.

The United States supports the YPG, also known as People’s Protection Units, in the battles against the Islamic State in Syria.

The president slammed an HDP deputy in particular who recently visited the family of a suicide bomber – who killed 29 people in last week’s terrorist attack in Ankara – to offer their condolences.

Abdulbaki Somer, born in 1989, reportedly joined the terrorist PKK organization at the age of 16 in 2005, and was based in the Qandil mountains – the PKK base in northern Iraq – until 2014.

The leader of the YPG has denied being behind the attack, saying Turkey is using the Ankara blast as a pretext to escalate its attacks in Syria.

“This is a matter of survival for Turkey”, Erdogan said. The government has blamed the militants for bringing their armed campaign to urban centres and has said military operations are not targeting civilians.