DefenceTalkAs Turkey continues its attack on Kurdish forces along the Syrian border town of Afrin, the Defense Department says the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is the common threat in the region, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White told reporters today. Published reports say Turkey launched the Afrin military operation Jan. 20. “[We] are […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkeys-assault-on-kurdish-fighters-concerns-united-states-71165/

DefenceTalkNATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller arrived in Ankara Monday on a long-planned visit that was unrelated to Turkey’s current military campaign against a Kurdish enclave in the northwest Syrian region of Afrin. But her trip provoked heightened interest, given that NATO’s two largest armies stand on opposite sides in the operation. Ankara says it […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-allies-clash-as-turkey-attacks-us-backed-kurds-in-syria-71133/

DefenceTalkDeputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad warned on Thursday that Syria’s air force could destroy any Turkish warplanes used in a threatened assault on the war-torn country. “We warn that the Syrian Air Force is ready to destroy Turkish air targets in the skies of Syria,” Mekdad told reporters, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syria-threatens-to-destroy-turkish-warplanes-71092/

DefenceTalkTurkish forces crossed into northern Iraq to pursue Kurdish militants on Tuesday after the deadliest rebel attacks in years left dozens dead as the decades-long conflict escalated. Thirteen Turkish police were killed on Tuesday in a new attack by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants as violence in the east threatened to spiral out of control. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkish-forces-enter-northern-iraq-as-pkk-violence-spirals-65331/