Minister Akar checks troops on Iraqi border

ANKARA

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has checked the Turkish troops deployed on the border with Iraq amid Ankara’s plans to launch a new ground cross-border operation into northern Syria.

Akar was accompanied by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and land, air and navy forces commanders. Akar and the military brass were briefed by the commanders in the field along the border on Nov. 27.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had signaled a land operation into northern Syria’s Tal Rifat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab provinces where the YPG terrorists have their facilities.

On Nov. 13, a terrorist instructed by the YPG blasted a bomb in downtown Istanbul and killed six civilians. In reaction, the Turkish air forces launched a comprehensive aerial campaign, dubbed the Claw-Sword Operation, against the PKK/YPG positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria. The Turkish government believes a land operation is a must for the success of the aerial campaign. It notes its offensive into northern Syria complies with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.

The YPG is the Syrian associate of the PKK, a designated terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.