Turkey: Kurdish forces not targeted in anti-ISIL offensive in Syria

Kurdish force and monitoring group accuse Turkish military of shelling Kurdish stronghold in Syria

July 27, 2015 8:36AM ET

Turkey said Monday that its military is not targeting Syrian Kurds, after Kurdish forces and a monitoring group accused Ankara of shelling Kurdish-held villages in northern Syria overnight.

Turkey launched an airstrike campaign against the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in Iraq and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria last week after both groups — opponents of each other and Turkey — launched attacks in Turkish territory.

Kurdish officials told Al Jazeera on Monday that overnight shelling targeted a checkpoint in a village outside Kobane manned by the Burkan al-Furat (Euphrates Volcano) battalion, a coalition of fighters from the Free Syrian Army and the People's Protection Units (YPG), which is affiliated with the PKK.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based group monitoring the Syrian conflict, said four fighters were injured in the shelling.

"A number of shells fired by Turkish tanks fell on the village of Zur Maghar, which is controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units," the monitoring group said.

Zur Maghar lies along the border with Turkey, in Aleppo province.

Ankara said Monday it would investigate the report. If confirmed, it would be the most serious incident of Turkey targeting Kurdish-controlled areas in the Syrian conflict.

Tensions between Turkey and Kurds escalated after an ISIL suicide bombing on July 20 near the Turkey-Syria border left 32 dead, most of them Kurds. The PKK, which blamed Ankara for not doing enough to prevent ISIL attacks, carried out an attack on Turkish police two days later, killing two officers. The group has since executed a number of low-level attacks on police and military forces.

Since the suicide bombing and subsequent attacks by the PKK, Turkey has allegedly targeted both groups in Iraq and Syria and carried out widespread police operations against suspected Kurdish and ISIL operatives and other outlawed groups in Turkey. Hundreds of people have been detained.

Turkey on Sunday called for a meeting of its NATO allies to discuss threats to its national security and its airstrike campaign.

In a statement, NATO confirmed that the 28-member alliance would convene Tuesday "in view of the seriousness of the situation after the heinous terrorist attacks in recent days."

NATO is not involved in operations against ISIL, although many of its members are. As an alliance, however, NATO is committed to helping defend Turkey.

The recent eruption of violence between Turkey and the PKK further complicates the U.S.-led war against ISIL, which has relied on PKK-affiliated ground forces making gains in Iraq and Syria.

A U.S. official said Monday the United States and Turkey are finalizing plans for a military campaign to push ISIL out of a strip of land along the border with Turkey —deepening efforts to halt the group’s advances.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the creation of an “Islamic State–free zone” would ensure greater security and stability in the border region.

However, the official said any joint military efforts with Turkey would not include the imposition of a no-fly zone, a step Washington has long resisted despite Turkish requests.

Al Jazeera and wire services