Greatest crisis in relations for decades between NATO allies

10 were killed in an airstrike

Turkey says its operation won’t undermine offensive against IS

Turks vote for a new president and parliament on Sunday in elections that pose the biggest challenge to Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party since they swept to power more than a decade and a half ago. The elections will also usher in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan and backed…

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned US-backed Kurdish forces he would not hesitate to use force to retake the third of the country they control. “The only problem left in Syria is the SDF,” Assad told Russia Today in an interview aired Thursday, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which has spearheaded battles against…

ISTANBUL: Turkey suffered heavy losses on Thursday during its offensive against a Kurdish militia in northwest Syria, with the military announcing that eight soldiers were killed and 13 more wounded. The death toll, released by the Turkish military staff in two separate statements, makes Thursday one of the deadliest days for Ankara since launching its…

ANKARA: Eleven Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday, including two military personnel when a helicopter was downed, in the bloodiest day in Ankara’s offensive against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria. On January 20, Turkey launched a military operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in the Afrin region, backing Syrian rebels with…

ANKARA: Seven Turkish soldiers were killed Saturday in Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria, including five who died in a single attack on a tank, the army said. The losses marked the highest toll in one day for the Turkish military in operation “Olive Branch”, launched on January 20 against Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection…

Turkey gave Washington advance warning before launching an operation against US-allied Syrian Kurdish forces, and Ankara has “legitimate” security concerns in the area, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday. “Turkey was candid. They warned us before they launched the aircraft they were going to do it in consultation with us, and we are working now…

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will on Monday discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis in Syria after Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish militias, diplomats said. The council was already scheduled to meet to hear a report from UN aid chief Mark Lowcock on his recent visit to Syria. At France’s request, the closed-door consultations…

HASSA, Turkey: Turkish ground troops entered Syria on Sunday to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as rocket fire hit a border town in apparent retaliation. Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers a terror group. But…

NEWS DESK: Turkish warplanes have attacked YPG and PKK targets as Ankara moves to help opposition fighters entering the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria, reported The Independent with additional input by AP. The Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said the country’s air force had begun its aerial offensive on the region near the…

MOSCOW: Russia respects the desire of Iraqi Kurdistan to seek to assert its identity but this must be done in dialogue with the Iraqi government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday at talks with his Iraqi government counterpart, reported Reuters. Lavrov said Russia would continue its economic ties with Iraqi Kurdistan, as it…

ERBIL/SULAIMANIYA, Iraq: Kurds voted in large numbers in an independence referendum in northern Iraq on Monday, ignoring pressure from Baghdad, threats from Turkey and Iran, and international warnings that the vote may ignite yet more regional conflict, reported Reuters. The vote organised by Kurdish authorities is expected to deliver a comfortable “yes” for independence, but…

By: Imran Khushal Let us assume that it is a bad day and you are on your way to work. But just a while before getting into your office, you accidentally get into a fight with two, let say, insane persons, who are also fighting with each other, simultaneously. What would you do? Obviously, any…

BAGHDAD: Iraqi government forces, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition, launched an offensive on Monday to drive Islamic State from the city of Mosul, the militants’ last major stronghold in the country. The assault on the northern city was the biggest operation mounted by the Iraqi military since U.S. forces withdrew in…

TURK-SYRIAN BORDER: A woman fighter dubbed the ‘Kurdish Angelina Jolie’ for her resemblance to the Hollywood superstar has died fighting ISIS, it has been claimed. Asia Ramazan Antar was among the ranks of the all-female Women’s Protection Units – a Kurdish group battling ISIS near Syria’s border with Turkey. But reports have emerged that the 22-year-old brunette…

DIYARBAKIR/KIZILTEPE: Bomb blasts in two cities in southeast Turkey killed nine civilians and wounded dozens on Wednesday, security sources said, and blamed the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the coordinated attacks targeting police. Four civilians were killed and 40 including 10 police officers wounded when roadside explosives were detonated by remote control near a hospital…

DIYARBAKIR: A powerful blast that shook an area near the Turkish city of Diyarbakir on Thursday killed four “bombmakers” and injured at least 10 other people, the interior ministry said. The blast happened in the area of Sarikamis on the outskirts of the majority Kurdish city “while PKK militants loaded explosives onto a stolen truck”,…

ISTANBUL: Five Turkish soldiers and one special forces police officer were killed Saturday in a bomb attack blamed on Kurdish militants in the southeast of the country, the Dogan news agency reported. The members of the security forces were carrying out a military operation in Nusaybin in the southeastern Mardin province when a bomb left…

DIYARBAKIR: Four police officers were killed and 14 people wounded in a bomb attack on Thursday targeting the Turkish police in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir, a security source said.  The attack comes as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose government has waged a relentless campaign against Kurdish rebels since last summer, was due on…