Washington:

Turkey Warned Pentagon before Attacking US-Backed Kurds

TEHRAN (defapress)- US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Turkey gave advance notice that it was planning to launch an attack on US-allied Kurdish militias in Syria, but he did not specify if Washington tried to dissuade Ankara.

News ID: 68216

Date: 22 January 2018 - 13:32

”Turkey was candid,” Mattis told reporters aboard a plane traveling to Asia from the US, adding that ”They warned us before they launched the aircraft they were going to do it, in consultation with us”, RT reported.

"Turkey is a NATO ally. It's the only NATO country with an active insurgency inside its borders. And Turkey has legitimate security concerns," Mattis underlined, who noted that gains against ISIL did not soothe Turkey’s concerns over a breakaway Kurdish state on territory.

The US has spent millions of dollars to arm and train the Kurdish militias forming the backbone of a ground force that reclaimed parts of ISIL territory, and took back the city of Raqqa last year.

“They have proven their effectiveness. It has cost them thousands of casualties. But you have watched them, with the coalition support, shred the ISIS (ISIL or Daesh) caliphate in Syria,” Mattis said.

The US Defense Chief then promised that US diplomats would “work this out”, adding that “We are very alert to it. Our top levels are engaged. And we’re working through it."

Turkey has launched a new air and ground operation around the area of Afrin in Syria to oust the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday stressed that Turkish offensive in Afrin is part of Ankara's strategy based on supporting terrorists.

The Syrian government has condemned the “brutal Turkish aggression” against the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, rejecting Ankara’s claim about having informed Damascus of the operation.

The Damascus government had made clear to Ankara that it considers Turkey’s military presence on its territory as a violation of its sovereignty, and warned that it will shoot down Turkish bombers in Syrian airspace.

Washington also continues providing Kurdish fighters with more military hardware in Syria despite US President Donald Trump's promise to his Turkish counterpart to halt arms shipment to the Kurdish fighters.

Ankara said late November 2017 that US President Donald Trump told Tukey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he had issued instructions that weapons should not be provided to Kurdish fighters in Syria.

According to reports, the US plans to keep its troops in Syria long after the defeat of ISIL. Washington has been justifying its deployment of ground troops in Syria, which violates the embattled nation’s sovereignty, by citing the need to fight ISIL.