The Turkish "claw - sword" operation continues

Erdogan: Operations in Syria and Iraq will not be limited to air strikes

Thousands of people in Al-Malikiyah mourn the dead of the Turkish raids on northern Syria.

Reuters

Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country's military operations in northern Syria and Iraq will not be limited to an air campaign only, and that discussions will take place regarding the participation of ground forces, and that the "claw-sword" operation is continuing, and we will do what is necessary by air and land.

Erdogan told reporters upon his return from Qatar that the Turkish General Staff and the Ministry of Defense will jointly decide on the participation of ground forces, according to what was reported by TRT and CNN Turk.

"It is out of the question for the military operation to be limited to the air operation, and we will take the decision and the step regarding the size of the ground forces that should join the operation," Erdogan was quoted by the local news channel, Haberturk.

Erdogan added that he did not hold talks with US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the "claw-sword" air operation, explaining that "the Turkish security authorities decide and take steps."

We do not wait for permission from anyone, and the United States should know us well from now on.

Erdogan stressed that the "claw - sword" operation is continuing, and we will do what is necessary by air and land.

Two people were killed and at least six were wounded as a result of a missile strike from the Syrian territory targeting the Turkish border city of Qarkamish, according to the governor of Gaziantep province.

Governor Daoud Gul wrote on Twitter: "Five mortar shells were fired at the center of Qaraqamis. Two of our citizens died, and six were wounded, two of them in serious condition."

Pictures published by Turkish media, including the official Anadolu Agency, showed smashed school windows and a heavy truck on fire.

According to the Anadolu Agency, the shells targeted a secondary school and two houses, in addition to a truck near a border crossing linking Qaraqamish to the Syrian city of Jarabulus.

On Sunday, rockets fell from Syria on a Turkish border crossing, injuring eight people, two Turkish soldiers and six policemen.

On Sunday morning, Ankara announced the launch of a military air operation against Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq, a week after the bloody attack in Istanbul.

Both Kurdish parties denied any role in the attack.

The Turkish raids targeted midnight, Saturday, Sunday, until the early hours of dawn, areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the governorates of Aleppo (north) and Al-Hasakah (northeast), most notably the city of Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) on the border with Turkey.

The Turkish strikes mainly targeted the city of Ain Al-Arab and its surroundings (north), grain silos in the western countryside of Al-Malikiyah, and a power station in its southern countryside (northeast).

And after its warplanes launched dozens of air strikes against Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq at dawn on Sunday, Ankara announced at night that its military air operation, which it called "claw-sword", was marked by "success."

In Syria, the strikes killed 35 people, most of them armed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while Kurdish fighters announced the killing of 10 civilians.

The bombing targeted border areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, whose backbone is the Kurdish People's Protection Units, especially the cities of Kobani (north) and Al-Malikiyah (northeast).

In the city of Al-Malikiyah, thousands of people, who came from several villages and cities, attended the funeral of 11 people who were killed in the raids that destroyed a power station, including the correspondent of the Hawar Agency, affiliated with the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, according to an AFP correspondent.

While the Syrian Democratic Forces announced the killing of one of its fighters, 11 civilians, and 15 members of the Syrian army forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the killing of 35 people, who are 18 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish security forces and other armed groups affiliated with them, in addition to 12 members of the Syrian army forces. .

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news