After the Istanbul attack, Turkey announced air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

Turkey announced on Sunday (20) that it had carried out airstrikes against Kurdish bases in northern Syria and Iraq, which, according to Ankara, were used to carry out “terrorist” attacks on its territory.

The attack, dubbed “Operation Sword-Claw”, came after an explosion in the city center of Istanbul last Sunday that killed six people and injured 81, for which Turkey blames the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“We are starting the Sword-Claw Operation,” said Hulusi Akar, the Minister of National Defense, who coordinated the operation with many commanders from the Air Force operations center.

Akar was also seen at the video briefing of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who ordered the operation, in which 15 people were killed, according to a group monitoring the region.

The Turkish defense ministry said the bombings targeted positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as an extension of the PKK, an illegal formation in Turkey.

“The operation was carried out in the northern regions of Iraq and Syria, which are used as bases for terrorist attacks in our country,” the ministry said.

Turkey blames the PKK for the Istanbul attack, the deadliest attack in the country in five years and rekindling painful memories of a wave of attacks in the country between 2015 and 2017.

The PKK and YPG, which have spearheaded a decades-long insurgency in Turkey, denied any involvement in the attack.

No individual or group claimed authorship.

“Calculation time”. Turkish police have arrested the main suspect in the November 13 attack, Syrian Alham Albashir, who allegedly worked for Kurdish militants in an Istanbul suburb.

The Turkish defense ministry added an image of a plane taking off for the night operation, as well as “Time for reckoning. The bastards must answer for their treacherous attacks.”

“Houses of terror are destroyed with precision strikes,” said another Twitter message, accompanied by a video showing a target exploding.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), a British organization with an extensive network of resources in Syria, reported that Turkey carried out more than 20 attacks on positions in Syria’s Aleppo (north) and Hasakah (northeast) provinces.

According to OSDH, at least nine members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and six soldiers of the Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime were killed in the bomb attacks.

Threat to the entire region. While Ankara did not reveal further details about the operation, the US-backed SDF said the city of Kobani in northeastern Syria was among the targets hit by Turkish attacks.

“The city of Kobane, which defeated ISIS, is being bombed by the invading Turkish Air Force,” said SDF spokesman Farhad Shami.

These forces provided crucial assistance to the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group that came to control large areas of Iraq and Syria.

However, Turkey sees the main component of the SDF, the YPG, as an extension of the banned PKK.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that the order for the Istanbul bombing came from Kobani.

This Kurdish-dominated Syrian town near the Turkish border was captured by ISIS in late 2014. Kurdish fighters overthrew the extremist group in early 2015.

SDF Commander Mazlum Abdi said, “Turkish bombardment in our safe zones threatens the entire region.”

This bombing is not helping anyone. We are doing our best to avoid a major disaster. If war breaks out, everyone will be affected.”

Turkey has carried out waves of attacks against Kurdish militias and IS extremists in Syria since 2016.

Since May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch an operation in northern Syria to create a “security zone” 30km south of the border.

The US State Department on Friday expressed fear of “possible military action by Turkey” and advised its citizens not to travel to northern Syria and Iraq.