Turkey's Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq
by Uzay Bulut • October 8, 2021 at 5:00 am
Turkey appears to be maneuvering to expand an Islamic state in Syria and Iraq.
The same Turkish government that claims to counter "terrorism" through its fight against the Kurdish PKK has supported ISIS in the region for years.
"The ability of ISIS to become a functioning state so quickly is largely due to its relationship with President Erdoğan in Turkey." — Dr. Mordechai Kedar, BESA Center, October 11, 2020.
The Turkish government -- a member of NATO -- clearly seems to feel itself on a jihadist roll.
Since the Taliban's violent takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, Turkey has increased its expansionist military activities in the Middle East in a way that is significantly impacting the lives of minorities.
Turkey appears to be maneuvering to expand an Islamic state in Syria and Iraq.
Turkey has so far been using its fight against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) as an excuse to justify its military aggression, destruction and casualties of persecuted minorities. Among those communities affected by Turkish military actions in Iraq and Syria are Yazidis, Assyrians and Kurds -- communities previously targeted by ISIS and al-Qaeda.
On August 17, in Iraq, the Turkish military carried out an airstrike on a hospital in Sinjar Province, where the Yazidi minority had already been victim of a genocide in 2014 at the hands of ISIS.
