Turkey response to Istanbul bombing with deadly campaign over Syria

• An official from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said 11 persons.
• Turkey’s defense minister thanked his country’s air force for the “successful” air operation.
• A woman has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out Sunday’s explosion in Istanbul.

According to an official from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), eleven persons, including a journalist, were killed in Syria after Turkish airplanes conducted an “air operation” in Syria and neighboring Iraq late Saturday. There have been no recorded casualties on the Iraqi side.

According to state-run news agency Anadolu, Turkey’s current cross-border attack, called “Operation Claw-Sword” by its defense ministry, targets the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), PYD People’s Defense Units (YPG), and Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK).

The campaign follows a tragic explosion in the center of Istanbul a week ago, for which Turkish police have blamed Kurdish separatists, a claim that Kurdish parties have denied. This attack resulted in at least six deaths and 81 injuries.

Turkish fighter jets launched airstrikes in Kobani, Dahir al-Arab village, and al-Beilonya, according to Ferhad Shami, chief of media for the SDF.

Shami said that the strikes had an impact on northern and eastern Syria, demolishing a hospital in Kobani, a power plant in Derik, and grain silos in Dahir al-Arab.

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An eyewitness informed the media that airplanes conducted airstrikes near the YPG-controlled city of Tal Rifaat in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

According to Anadolu, the Turkish defense minister thanked his country’s air force on Sunday for the “successful” air operation.

“Terrorists’ shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, and warehouses were successfully destroyed. We followed them closely. The so-called headquarters of the terrorist organization were also hit and destroyed,” Hulusi Akar said in an address from the capital Ankara, Anadolu reported.

Both the United States and Turkey consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization. The United States and Turkey differ over the status of the YPG’s military wing, which has been a US ally in the war against ISIS in Syria, but Turkey views it as the Syrian branch of the PKK.

A woman has been seized on suspicion of carrying out Sunday’s devastating explosion in Istanbul. Turkish police have recognized her as a Syrian national who received training from Kurdish terrorists.

Officials from the SDF, the YPG, and the PKK’s armed wing, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), have all denied involvement in the attack.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian authorities have charged five individuals with assisting terrorist crimes in relation to the explosion.

The five individuals have been charged with two offenses, Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Anglel Kanev informed reporters on Saturday. “One [is being in] an organized crime group for trafficking and human trafficking. The other is, according to article 108A in the criminal code, generally speaking, aiding to a certain extent at a certain moment, terrorist activities.”

Kanev stated that all of the suspects are foreign nationals, and one has dual citizenship with Bulgaria.

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