Two killed, 24 wounded in suicide bomber attack in eastern Turkey

The leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition has accused Erdoğan of launching air strikes in Syria and Iraq to prevent Kurdish territorial and political gains, and of using the war against ISIL as a cover. And that’s the problem.

Erdogan on his three-day state visit at the Indonesian capital of Jakarta said our only interest is “Islam and Islam”. But his biggest priority is one that’s driven by domestic politics: curtailing growing Kurdish power along Turkey’s southern border.

“The allegations in the press have been reassessed; it has been determined that the hit target was not a village but in fact a sheltering area for terrorists who are members of a separatist terrorist organization”, the statement said.

Soon after, Turkish warplanes began pummelling PKK camps and positions in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, engaging in an intense air campaign that has killed hundreds. He welcomed Turkey’s decision to cooperate more closely with the US-led coalition fighting the IS jihadists, but said its conflict with the PKK guerrillas was another matter.

Turkey’s moves are calculated at striking at the PKK while deepening the rift between Kurdish factions – something that could end up complicating or even harming the fight against ISIS.

FILE – In this September 5, 2014, file photo, President Barack Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after they made statements to reporters at their meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit at Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales.

The Kurds, an ethnic group with their own language and customs, have long sought a homeland.

Either way, it would be a win-win for Washington, hence why the policy was pursued to its maximum extent with the US providing weapons, equipment, mercenaries (“volunteers”), and training to the Kurds, knowing that this would embolden some of their more militant elements to inevitably turn their newly acquired skills and wares against Turkey.

Mr. Barzani was said to have played a role in easing tension with Turkey as the Y.P.G. battled ISIS in the Syrian Kurdish border town Kobani last year – and in persuading Turkey to open limited supply lines to the Y.P.G. and to the Kurdish communities that it was defending.

Along with its efforts to combat the P.K.K., Turkey has also stepped up its fight against the Islamic State.

The broader U.S. rules of engagement, approved Friday, came after rebels fighting the Islamic State were attacked by the Nusra Front, an al-Qaida offshoot, in northern Syria, a U.S. defense official said. “These attacks are only exacerbating the continuation of the cycle of violence here”.

But so far the bombardments have focused far more on the Kurdish rebels – with Turkish official media claiming that 260 suspected PKK members have been killed – and the militants have retaliated inside Turkey.

During June elections, Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 2002.