Kurdish Militants Blamed For Bombing In Ankara

The Turkish government accused Turkish militants of being behind the bombing in Ankara and stepped up its fight against the group. Turkey also called on the United States to cut ties with the group, which is one of the most vital allies of Washington in Syria.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that an YPG member was responsible for the deadly bombing in the capital of Turkey. YPGis a Kurdish militia supported by the US in its fight against the Islamic State in Syria. Twenty-eight people were killed in the bombing.

The ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council were summoned by the Turkish government to show evidence that the bomber was dispatched by the YPG. A military convoy bringing officers home was targeted by the bomber.

Prime Minister Davutoglu said the US-backed YPG was behind the bombing in Ankara. The insistence of Turkey that the US should stop supporting the Kurds may undermine the effectiveness of the coalition fighting the Islamic State. The Incirlik Air Base in Turkey serves as a base of operations for drones and jets of the United States and its allies. The drones and jets are used to carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The coalition is permitted to carry out strikes in Syria to support YPG as indicated in their agreement. However, the policy may be questioned due to the demands of Turkey for its NATO allies to respond to the bombing in Ankara.

Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies defense analyst Can Kasapoglu said the attack should be considered as an attack on the capital of NATO. Kasapoglu added that the attack was different from other terrorist attacks in Turkey.

US officials revealed that they have yet to determine the group behind the attack and have not yet cut ties with the Kurdish group in Syria. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the US has been consistent in telling the YPG that it considers its alliance with Turkey important and they should not engage in efforts undermining their main focus of dealing with a shared threat, the Islamic State.

Kurdish Militants Blamed For Bombing In Ankara - image credit: independent.co.uk

John Kirby, spokesman from the State Department, described Turkey as an important player in the fight against the Islamic State, He also described the YPG as brave and effective fighters and the United States military will continue to work with the Syrian Kurds.

A diplomat who attended the briefing in Turkey said evidence showing the explosives and detonator in the recent bombing in Ankara were similar to the ones used by an affiliate of the YPG in Turkey last month. The car bomb killed 6 people at a police complex. The diplomat added that while Turkish officials made an appeal for international support, they did not provide direct evidence linking the attack with the YPG fighters.

The diplomat said the link was mainly through the equipment used, but no information about the background of the attacker was given. The attack was categorically denied by leaders of the Kurdish group and described the accusations as “baseless slander.”

One of the two leaders of a Kurdish political group overseeing the YPG, Saleh Muslim, said the YPG was not behind the bombing in Ankara and it was all fabrication.

The bomber was identified by Turkish officials as Saleh Najjar. He was registered as a Syrian refugee in July 2014 and he came from Syria’s Hasakah region, which is dominated by Kurds. A Turkish official said Najjar has clear links to the people who financed the bombing in Ankara and who rented the vehicle used in the attack.

Turkey has been calling on the United States to cut ties with the YPG, which has proven to be effective fighters against the Islamic State. The Kurdish fighters were able to drive the extremist group from a good part of northern Syria with the support of the United States. The Kurds have started to establish a quasi-state in the area close to Syria’s border with Turkey.

The YPG has also been working with the PKK, which has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey. The PKK is also classified by Turkey, the US and the European Union as a terrorist organization.

A Turkish official said the PKK in Turkey and the YPG in Syria have been taking orders from a headquarters located in northern Iraq’s Qandil mountains. The PKK started a new insurgency in southeastern Turkey with the increasing prominence of the YPG. The Kurdish militants are attempting to create an autonomous region close to the Syrian border.

Even as Turkey continuously provided evidence of the smuggling of weapons by the Kurds in Syria to their Turkish allies, the United States said it rarely happens. The apprehensions of Turkey increased after the YPG captured additional territory in northern Syria taking advantage of airstrikes by Russia, forcing rival groups supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey to retreat.

As the YPG increased its territory, Turkey used heavy artillery against the group over the border. The attacks continued for a number of days even as the United States called on Ankara to stop firing. New airstrikes were launched by Turkey against the PKK in northern Iraq and fired artillery into Syria hours after the bombing in Ankara.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said the bombing in Ankara is expected to increase the understanding of their friends on the strong connection between the YPG and the PKK. Muslim said the gambit of Turkey will weaken efforts in ending the war in Syria.

Posted by James Fried on Friday February 19 2016, 9:51 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Uncategorized. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0