Erdogan vows Syria ground invasion, Kurds prepare response

By HOGIR AL ABDO and ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Turkey’s president says he will carry out a land invasion into Kurdish areas of northern Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement in Ankara Wednesday came after Turkey carried out a barrage of airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militants in northern Syria and Iraq in recent days. The strikes were in retaliation for a deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul that Ankara blames on the Kurdish groups, which deny involvement. Ankara’s allies, particularly Russia, have attempted to dissuade a ground incursion, and warned that Turkish-Kurdish tensions are distracting from the fight against the Islamic State group in the area. Turkey has carried out a series of incursions into Syria since 2016 and already controls parts of the neighboring country’s north.