Turkey Claims to Have Killed 13 Kurdish Militants in Iraq and Syria

On Tuesday, February 9, Turkey announced that it had eliminated 13 Kurdish militants in Iraq and northern Syria. The Turkish Ministry of Defense identified the killed Kurdish forces in Syria as members of the 'Kurdistan Workers' Party' (PKK) and Syrian Kurds affiliated with the 'People's Protection Units' (YPG). This is considered the second major clash between Turkish forces and the Kurds in recent days, as Turkey also reported on Sunday, February 13, that it had killed 13 Kurdish militants. While Turkey does not differentiate between the PKK and the YPG, the United States views these two groups as distinct. The U.S. designates the PKK as a terrorist organization, whereas the YPG, under the umbrella of the 'Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF), has acted as a U.S. ally in Syria and has fought against the Islamic State (ISIS). However, Turkey perceives the SDF, which controls about a quarter of Syrian territory, as a threat to its national security and states that they must either be disarmed or face military confrontation. On the other hand, the SDF and the new Syrian government are also at odds over the integration of Kurdish-led forces into the new security apparatus of the country. The SDF claims it does not agree with the new Syrian Defense Ministry's plan to integrate all armed groups in the country and has no intention of dissolving its forces.