Wonderful allies – Turkey bombs US-backed coalition forces in Syria

Turkey is once again proving itself a loyal friend, neighbor, and ally by attacking the Kurdish forces which are part of the US-backed coalition fighting in Syria.

Rather than ally with the legal Syrian government and Russia to destroy ISIS, the Pentagon evidently prefers to continue its 6-year failed regime change operation against Damascus which has wrought nothing but ruin and death in the country.

But they sure have a motley crew with which to do it – ranging from the hardcore Wahabist extremists like Al-Nusra Front to the treacherous Turks.

Turkish leader Recep Erdogan makes a horrible ally, flooding Europe with migrants and spewing invective at the West at the same time as he helps them destroy the middle east. But Turkey has its own plans for Syria – where it used to hold imperial sway – and it is far better positioned to influence events than the far off Europeans and Americans.

From Southfront today:

On April 25, the Turkish Air Force bombed the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) General Command HQ in the Mount Karachok near the town of Al-Malikiyah, according to a statement released by the YPG General Command. Airstrikes also hit “a media center, a local radio station [Voice of Rojava FM], communication headquarters and some military institutions.”

The YPG Central Command also confirmed causalities among YPG members and civilians. According to pro-Kurdish sources, about 20 persons were killed in the airstrikes. The YPG is a core of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces operating in Syria.

In turn, the Turkish military released a statement saying that Turkish warplanes had bombed members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Syria and in northern Iraq. Ankara sees the YPG as a branch of the PKK in Syria and describes it as a terrorist group.

According to the statement, some 70 PKK members were killed in the air raids [30 – in Syria, 40 – in Iraq] and the targets were hit to prevent the PKK from sending “terrorists, arms, ammunition and explosives to Turkey.” The Turkish statement clearly dismissed speculations that Ankara forces hit US-backed fighters in Syria by mistake.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan said the US and Russia were informed of the attacks. However, the Pentagon said, “These airstrikes were not approved by the Counter ISIS Coalition and led to the unfortunate loss of life of our partner forces.”