US Criticizes Turkish Shelling of Kurdish-Held Syria Region
While the United States supports Turkey’s concern about a safe and secure Turkish-Syrian border, military operations by Turkey into northeast Syria will not advance regional stability, the State Department said Friday. Turkey was reportedly intensifying the shelling into Syria’s Kurdish-controlled Afrin region. “We do not believe that a military operation, whether in Afrin or directly […]
Turkey Fires Over 2700 Over Links to ‘Terror’ Organizations
Turkey dismissed more than 2,700 employees from its public service sector Sunday – the latest firings in a widescale crackdown since a failed military coup in July 2016. A total of 2,756 people, including academics, soldiers, and military personnel were dismissed on Sunday, accused of links to what Ankara has labeled as terror groups, according […]
Recep Tayyip Erdogan scolds US over arrest warrants
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the US decision to issue arrest warrants for 12 of his bodyguards allegedly linked with a brawl outside the Turkish embassy in Washington, DC. Several people were injured when a brawl broke outside Turkey’s embassy during Erdogan’s visit to the US in May. Washington, DC police reportedly obtained the […]
Erdogan Warns of Crusade Against Islam
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Europe of starting a new battle between Islam and Christianity following a ruling permitting employers to ban headscarves. Prompted by the case of a Muslim receptionist fired for wearing a headscarf to work in Belgium, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday that bans on the wearing […]
Fears Grow of IS Threat in Turkey After New Year’s Attack
Turkey is still reeling from the deadly New Year’s shooting at an Istanbul nightclub, in which 39 people were killed. Far from bringing the country together, the attack has further deepened national divisions. With the gunman still on the loose, fears are growing about the threat so-called Islamic State poses to Turkey. The threat comes […]
Erdogan vows Turkey will stand firm against terror
Security services had been on heightened alert for New Year in Turkey and across Europe. Just days ago, an online message from a pro-ISIL group called for attacks by “lone wolves” on “celebrations, gatherings and clubs”. As he was wheeled out of an ambulance on a stretcher, one survivor of the nightclub massacre said: “They […]
Search Continues for Istanbul Nightclub Attacker
A manhunt for the gunman who killed 39 people in an Istanbul night club early Sunday continued into the evening, but authorities still have “no clarity” on who was responsible, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim said. “Some details have started emerging, but the authorities are working towards a concrete result,” Yildrim told reporters Sunday evening.
Turkish Military: Rebels, Airstrikes Kill Nearly 70 Militants in Northern Syria
Turkey said Saturday that its warplanes had killed 68 Islamic State militants 20 kilometers northeast of Aleppo, Syria, as pitched battles raged in al-Bab between extremist fighters and rebels supported by Turkish forces. A Turkish military spokesman said the overnight airstrikes, part of the Turkey-led Operation Euphrates Shield, had destroyed 141 IS targets, including a […]
Russian Ambassador to Turkey Assassinated in Ankara
A gunman believed to be an off-duty policeman shot and killed Russia’s ambassador to Turkey Monday night in Ankara. Ambassador Andrey Karlov was making a speech at the opening of an art exhibition when a man dressed in a suit approached the podium and opened fire. The entire scene was captured on video. Ambassador Andrey […]
What Next For U.S.-Turkey Relations Under Trump?
Turkey rejoiced cautiously at the unexpected victory of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim welcomed his election as a “new era” in bilateral relations. Whether this positive sentiment will persist once Trump officially assumes office remains to be seen.