Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country's forces will not be limited to aerial bombardment of PKK positions in northern Syria and northern Iraq, while the United Nations called for avoiding escalation.

Erdogan said that discussions will take place regarding the involvement of ground forces in the operation.

The military commanders are making an assessment about a ground operation, noting that the task is to eliminate "terrorist organizations".

The Turkish president indicated that Russia did not abide by the Sochi agreement on cleansing the region of "terrorists," and that Turkey had previously "confirmed that it would not be silent about that, which is what actually happened."

Erdogan added that Turkey and the United States of America are both under the umbrella of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but Washington has sent thousands of vehicles and weapons to the terrorist zone in Syria.

He pointed out that the United States had been informed of Turkey's dissatisfaction with sending weapons to terrorists in Syria since the era of former President Barack Obama, but the matter continued with subsequent US administrations.

For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint and avoiding escalation.


ongoing process

More than 70 air vehicles, including fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with weapons, participated in the operation, which Turkey called "Claw-Sword".

And the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that Turkish planes carried out air strikes on Kurdish militia bases in northern Syria and Iraq on Sunday, destroying 89 targets of the PKK and the People's Protection Units, in response to the Istanbul bombing, in which 6 people were killed and dozens wounded.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said that the military operation that began yesterday, and caused many losses to what he described as a terrorist organization, will continue inside and outside Turkey.

The Turkish attacks also targeted - according to statements by what is known as the Syrian Democratic Forces - the regions of Sinjar, Karakouk, Qandil and Assos in northern Iraq.

The Turkish strikes in Iraq did not result in civilian deaths, according to an official in Iraqi Kurdistan, explaining that the bombing targeted at least 8 areas where PKK sites are located in Sinjar and the Qandil Mountains, where the largest bases of the PKK are located.

Counter-bombing

Yesterday, Sunday, a missile strike targeted the Turkish Ongo Pinar border crossing opposite the Syrian Bab al-Salama crossing.

Turkish official media reported that the bombing wounded 8 people, including a Turkish soldier and two members of the Special Operations Police.

She added that the Kurdish People's Protection Units - which Turkey classifies as a terrorist organization - fired a missile at that area in Kilis, southern Turkey.

Syrian media also confirmed that the Kurdish forces targeted with rocket launchers the vicinity of the Bab al-Salama crossing, on the Turkish border near the city of Azaz in the countryside of Aleppo.