US concerned over Turkish shelling of PKK/YPG positions

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

The United States is concerned over Turkish shelling of PKK/YPG positions in Syria, an official said Oct. 31.

“Unilateral military strikes into northwest Syria by any party, particularly as American personnel may be present or in the vicinity, are of great concern to us,” State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.

“Coordination and consultation between the United States and Turkey on issues of security concern is a better approach,” he said.

On Oct. 28, the Turkish military hit PKK/YPG positions in the Zor Magar region east of the Euphrates River and the town of Tal Abyad on Oct. 30.

Ten YPG members were killed after Turkish forces fired howitzer shells across the border into Syria’s Ayn al-Arab region, state-run Anadolu Agency said on Oct. 31.

The YPG is the core of a force that has fought against ISIL with the support of U.S. air power, arms, funding, training and an estimated 2,000 American special forces troops on the ground.

Turkey considers the YPG as an offshoot of the illegal PKK and has already intervened to sweep the fighters from territory west of the Euphrates in military campaigns over the past two years.

Turkish forces have already forced the YPG out from the region west of the Euphrates.