Turkey strikes in Syria, Iraq a week after Istanbul bombing

By ANDREW WILKS
Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) — The Turkish Defense Ministry says it has launched airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, targeting Kurdish groups Ankara holds responsible for last week’s bomb attack in Istanbul. Warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People’s Protection Units, or YPG, the ministry said Sunday. It cited Turkey’s right to self defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. It launched an operation it called Claw-Sword, saying it was targeting areas “used as a base by terrorists in their attacks on our country.” There was no immediate comment from either Kurdish group.