Syrian Kurds - Page 2

U.S. Central Command chief General Joseph Votel confirmed on Sunday that America has no intention of withdrawing from Manbij, northern Syria, despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing an invasion of the city following an attack on Afrin, to Manbij’s west.

A spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), an U.S.-allied militia currently under attack by the Turkish military, claimed on Friday that the group’s fighters had successfully thwarted all attacks against them in “Operation Olive Branch.”

Turkish government sources told the newspaper Hurriyet on Thursday that the White House readout of a call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan “does not accurately reflect” the conversation and that its contents were “not true.”

Turkey’s military General Staff claimed on Tuesday that its “Operation Olive Branch,” an invasion of Afrin in northern Syria, killed “at least 260” Kurdish and Islamic State terrorists. The United States and its Syrian Kurdish allies have both denied there being a significant ISIS presence in that area.

Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli affirmed that the Turkish military would cross into Syrian territory and attack U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in that country on Friday, a move that may trigger direct clashes between Turkey and the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Turkey vows to take action against a United States-supported plan to establish a Kurdish-majority force of 30,000 troops in Syria “regardless of who backs them,” cautioned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Monday to annihilate a 30,000-strong Kurdish-majority force in Syria that has the backing of the United States.

U.S. special envoy for the coalition against the Islamic State Brett McGurk arrived in Ankara, Turkey, Friday to discuss the ongoing battle for Raqqa. Turkey, which recently called for McGurk’s firing, has increasingly engaged in attacks against the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ).

The Kurdish news outlet Rudaw and Turkish network Haberturk are reporting that members of the Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG/YPJ) and the Turkish military have exchanged fire in northwest Syria.

The UK-based NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported this week that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed Kurdish-Arab coalition, has taken back a quarter of the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a multi-ethnic coalition of militias in the country, have reportedly made gains on either side of the city of Raqqa, slowly surrounding an estimated 4,000 jihadists preparing to fight for their “capital.”

A statement released by the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah warns the United States to cease striking forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad when they violate deconfliction zones, warning their “self-restraint” will not last if America “crosses the red lines.”

The Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), a coalition of anti-Islamic State militias largely comprised of Kurdish fighters, has confirmed that the battle to liberate Raqqa, the capital of the ISIS “caliphate,” has begun.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım told reporters on Saturday that the official operation to eradicate the Islamic State from Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the “caliphate,” had begun on Friday, June 3.

Following Turkish media reports last week, the U.S. military has confirmed that it has begun shipping weapons to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ) to prepare for the battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria from the Islamic State.

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In remarks Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that he would personally demand President Donald Trump rescind his support for the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), as Turkey’s “patience has ended” with the anti-Islamic State collaboration between the two.

Turkey has expressed its condolences to the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) after airstrikes led to the deaths of several Peshmerga soldiers but vowed to continue operations in the region following attacks on Syrian Kurdish and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in both countries this week.

The United States is boosting support to an operation against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria, providing airlift and artillery in addition to the train-and-advise mission, a move that will further deepen America’s involvement in the war-devastated country.

The Turkish military actively engaged in gunfire with the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), long considered among the most successful militias on the ground fighting the Islamic State.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for cooperation between the U.S., Russia, Iran, and Turkey to “establish a stable and terror-free zone” in Syria.

Turkey appears to be thawing its previously challenging relationship with Russia just as disagreements about the role of the Syrian Kurdish militias in the fight against the Islamic State have become a point of contention with the United States.

Turkey is seeking a greater role in fighting the Islamic State in Syria, even hoping to collaborate with the U.S. military to liberate Raqqa, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The declaration has alarmed Russia, which is expressing “concern” at an expansion of Turkey’s military action in the region.

Rebel fighters affiliated with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reportedly discovered a “hidden” detention center in northern Syria where Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) jihadists used the “worst, most violent torture tools” on female prisoners.

As the Turkish military continues to strike U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish targets near the Euphrates River, the White House has confirmed that President Barack Obama will discuss the situation with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Group of 20 summit in China next week.

Fighting has erupted in northern Syria between two US allies on opposing sides of a Turkish military offensive — the now Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

American officials have confirmed that Syrian Kurdish troops have agreed to stay east of Iraq’s Euphrates River, a demand imposed by the Turkish government. The Turks’ public concerns over Syrian Kurdish expansion come as the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, visits Ankara to reaffirm his solidarity with Erdogan.

Kurdish and Arab forces – including U.S.-backed Iraqi troops, Shiite militias linked to Iran, Peshmerga troops, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – have launched offensives targeting three major Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

The Pentagon has seemingly changed its position on U.S. special operations troops wearing uniform insignia linked to the armed group of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Some Christian Assyrians have reportedly accused the Obama administration-backed Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD) in northern Syria of imposing revisionist education curricula on the Christian Assyrians and Arabs that changes the Old Testament.

Turkish warplanes have renewed airstrikes against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq, Reuters has learned from military sources.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) stands against “any terrorist group” that attacks Turkey, a Pentagon spokesperson indicated to Breitbart News.

Christian Assyrian forces launched a counterattack against the Kurdish police Asayish in northern Syria’s Qamishli.

Kurdish forces have been fighting pro-Bashar al-Assad militiamen in northeast Syria, killing 21, according to a Syrian Kurdish official.

President Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq echoed Turkey’s position and said the terrorist group known as the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and the U.S.-backed Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria “are exactly one and the same thing.”

A militant group linked to the communist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the United States considers a terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for carrying out the suicide car-bomb attack that killed 37 people in the Turkish capital.