The White House said, on Tuesday, that Turkey faces a terrorist threat on its southern border, and has the right to defend itself.
“Turkey continues to suffer a terrorist threat, especially in its south. They certainly have every right to defend themselves and their citizens,” John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the US National Security Council, told reporters.
He added that the United States had concerns about cross-border operations, which he said would affect the YBG/PKK’s fight against the Islamic State terrorists.
Kirby added that the operations “may force some of our partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces into a reaction that would restrict their ability to continue the fight against ISIS.”
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At dawn on Sunday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that its forces launched the “claw-sword” air operation against terrorist sites in northern Iraq and Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed, on Tuesday, that the Turkish armed forces destroyed strongholds of terrorists in northern Syria and Iraq, in response to the terrorist attack they carried out on Istiklal Street in Istanbul.