ANKARA (Reuters/Al Jazeera) –
Turkey will attack militants with tanks and soldiers soon, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, signaling a possible ground offensive against Kurdish militants 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.
Turkey blames the groups for the November 13 bombing in central Istanbul that killed six people.
“We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns,” Erdogan said in a speech on Tuesday. “God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers.”
Erdogan has made similar threats in the past six months, but the incursion on Sunday has heightened the possibility that a bigger military operation may occur.
Russia has warned against any potential operation.
The Kremlin has said Russia respects Turkey’s “legitimate” security concerns over Syria but claimed all parties there should avoid steps that could worsen the situation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that while there were disagreements between Russia and Turkey in their approach to Syria, Moscow understood Turkey’s security concerns.
“We understand and respect Turkey’s concerns about ensuring its own security. We believe this is Turkey’s legitimate right. At the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to the destabilization of the overall situation,” he said.
Ankara blamed the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and affiliated Syrian Kurdish groups for the Istanbul attack, which also saw more than 80 people wounded.
Kurdish fighters have denied any involvement.
The Turkish defence ministry said its so-called Claw Sword operation – which also included land-fired weapons – killed 184 militants and destroyed 89 targets including shelters, bunkers, caves and tunnels.
Washington, like Moscow, called for de-escalation.
On Tuesday, a military base in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, where U.S. occupation troops and their allied Kurdish-led militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are stationed, came under attack by an armed unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the Turkish military.
“A joint base north of Hasakah used for planning and executing joint operations against the Daesh terrorist group has been hit by a Turkish drone,” a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, told AFP news agency on Tuesday.
He added that two SDF militants were killed in the aerial attack.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that the joint base had come under attack, but did not immediately report whether American occupation forces had been present at the time.