Turkish Military Strikes Northern Syria, Targeting Kurdish and ISIS Positions

Turkey’s armed forces targeted both the so-called Islamic State and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria on Monday and Tuesday, Reuters reported.

ISIS militants had fired two mortar shells across the border, hitting the Turkish town of Karkamis, with no reported injuries. The Turkish military retaliated by firing 40 shells at four targets in Syria. Turkey is supporting Syrian rebels in the fight to seize control of Jarablus, located across the border from Karkamis, from the militants.

Turkish artillery also bombed Kurdish YPG positions in northern Syria, near the town of Manbij, according to BBC News. The YPG forces are a key ally in the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS.

The strikes came a day after a Kurdish wedding in southern Turkey was targeted by a suicide bomber, allegedly with ISIS, in the deadliest such attack on the country this year.

Turkey views Syrian Kurdish forces as an extension of its own Kurdish rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who have been fighting Ankara for autonomy since the 1980s. Syrian Kurdish forces announced the establishment of autonomous rule in areas of northern Syria earlier this year.

Russia to No Longer Use Iranian Airbase for Syrian Strikes, ‘for Now’

Iran’s foreign ministry announced on Monday that Russia is no longer using an Iranian air base to bomb targets in Syria, the Associated Press reported.

Russia had a “kind of show-off and ungentlemanly” attitude, the Iranian defense minister, Gen. Hossein Dehghan, said on Monday, criticizing Russia’s conspicuousness.

“Russians are interested to show they are a superpower to guarantee their share in political future of Syria and, of course, there has been a kind of show-off and ungentlemanly (attitude) in this field,” Dehghan said in a state TV interview.

Last week, Russia announced it was using an Iranian air base near the city of Hamedan to carry out airstrikes on targets in Syria. This was confirmed by Iranian officials one day later.

Russian airstrikes from Iran are “finished, for now” according to Bahram Ghasemi, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry.

The Russian military announced on Monday it had completed its Hamedan operations, Reuters reported.

“Further use of the Hamedan air base in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Russian Aerospace Forces will be carried out on the basis of mutual agreements to fight terrorism and depending on the prevailing circumstances in Syria,” a Russian defense ministry spokesman said in a statement.

U.S. Commander Unsure of Military Cooperation With Russia in Fight Against ISIS

The top U.S. commander in the coalition fight against the so-called Islamic State said he can complete the mission without increased cooperation with Russia, the Associated Press reported.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, who took command on Sunday, said it was up to the Obama administration to decide whether to increase military partnership with Russia, but added that he was skeptical.

“I’m not sure how much I’m inclined to believe that we can cooperate with them,” Townsend told the Associated Press.

While both Russia and the U.S. target ISIS militants in Syria, the former country is a key ally of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, while the U.S. supports rebel groups fighting him.

Townsend also said he was optimistic that, over the next year, ISIS will be rolled back from its two bastions, Raqqa and Mosul.

Recommended Reads:

• Carnegie: Russia and Iran: Historic Mistrust and Contemporary Partnership
• The New York Times: Iran Revokes Russia’s Use of Air Base, Saying Moscow ‘Betrayed Trust’
• The Los Angeles Times: Kurds Clash With Syrian Government Forces, Blurring Lines of Friend and Foe in Civil War
• Foreign Policy: The Post-Obama Syrian Playbook
• BBC News: A Glimmer of a Chance for a Settlement in Syria?