Turkey: Erdogan says Turkey will attack Kurdish militants in Syria with tanks and soldiers
Turkey will attack militants with tanks and soldiers soon, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, signalling a possible ground offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria after retaliatory strikes escalated along the Syrian border.
His comments came as Turkish artillery kept up bombardment of Kurdish bases and other targets near the Syrian towns of Tal Rifaat and Kobani, two Syrian military sources told Reuters.
“We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns,” Erdogan said in a speech in northeastern Turkey. “God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers.”
He said previously that operations would not be limited to an air campaign and may involve ground forces. Turkey has mounted several major military operations against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and Islamic State militants in northern Syria in recent years.