On October 14, Turkey rejected US condolences over the six deaths in an Istanbul bombing that Ankara attributed to a banned Kurdish militant group. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan frequently charges Washington with arming Kurdish forces in northern Syria who Ankara labels “terrorists.”
“We reject the condolence letter from the US embassy” Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister, stated in broadcast remarks.
Soylu claimed that the bomber went through Afrin after receiving the order in Kobani, both of which are northern Syrian cities where Turkish soldiers have been engaged in operations against the YPG.
Three assaults by Turkey against the YPG in northern Syria, including one in 2019, resulted in the seizure of hundreds of kilometers of terrain. President Tayyip Erdogan stated earlier this year that “another operation was approaching.”
In the Syrian conflict, the United States has backed the YPG, infuriating Turkey, another NATO member. Numerous governments, including the US, the EU, Egypt, Ukraine, and Greece, condemned the incident and sent their sympathies to the victims.
Therefore, Turkish authorities connects the explosion to Washington’s and other countries’ support for the YPG.
