The Kurdish News

[TomSea]

Family sets up memorial fund for Ryan Lock who died fighting Islamic State
Kurdish Question

The family of Ryan Lock, the British man who died fighting the jihadist Islamic State group in Syria has set up a fund to raise £5,000 for a memorial stone and bench.

The 20-year-old former chef, who joined the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Rojava in September died on 21 December after turning a gun on himself to avoid being taken hostage.

His father, Jon Plater, said: "The family has slowly been coming to terms with losing Ryan. The love and unity within our family has helped us cope.

Continued: http://kurdishquestion.com/article/3859-family-sets-up-memorial-fund-for-ryan-lock-who-died-fighting-islamic-state

Good picture of the lad.

[TomSea]

US armored vehicles appear in Manbij, next target of Erdoğan

Five days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey’s next target in Syria would be the northern Syrian city of Manbij, which was controlled by Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) forces, a convoy of US armored vehicles appeared near the city on Sunday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported.

The AFP released photographs of the convoy of US armored vehicles driving near the village of Yalanlı, on the western outskirts Manbij, on March 5.

Erdoğan announced at a press conference in Ankara on Feb. 28  that Turkey’s next target in Syria would be Manbij, which has become a subject of disagreement between Washington and Ankara.

Continued: http://www.turkishminute.com/2017/03/06/us-armored-vehicles-appear-manbij-next-target-erdogan/

This is a sensitive situation, some press has written that the US would defend Kurdish troops.

[TomSea]

Turkish minister: ISIL, PYD (Kurds) and Assad regime cooperating on Manbij

Turkey’s Defense Minister Fikri Işık said on Sunday that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Syrian regime have been cooperating on the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the state-run TRTHaber reported.

“The whole world has started to see how DEAŞ [ISIL], the PYD and the [Assad] regime are cooperating on Manbij,” said Işık during a program in Kocaeli organized by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

“One of the most important priorities of Turkey is to prevent the PYD, which is close to committing a genocide against the Kurds, from creating a territory. It will absolutely not be allowed to create a sovereign territory. Turkey will at all costs not allow the PYD to unite the cantons [Afrin, Kobani, Jazira],” said Defense Minister Işık.

More: http://www.turkishminute.com/2017/03/05/turkish-minister-isil-pyd-assad-regime-cooperating-manbij/

"..the PYD, which is close to committing a genocide against the Kurds.."

[TomSea]

Kurdish healer: Trump is possessed; I can cure him by beating soles of his feet

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Kurdish healer who claims to draw his knowledge and powers from God says that US President Donald Trump is possessed and unless he is cured he will either go insane or be killed before finishing his first term in office.


Known as Mala Ali Kalak and based in a small town outside Erbil on the road to Mosul, he says he has treated many cases of cancer and HIV, including government officials.

“Trump is possessed and I need to beat him on the soles of his feet to get the jinni out of his body,” Mala Ali told Rudaw in an interview. “He has lost his mind and oversteps his boundaries all the time. He needs help. Unless he is cured he will continue to act like he does now.”

Continued: http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/060320173

[TomSea]

Questions linger on who controls Syrian town of Manbij
BEIRUT – Reuters

A convoy of US forces armoured vehicles drives near the village of Yalanli, on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Manbij, on March 5. AFP photo
Manbij in Syria’s north is under the protection of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a Kurdish-allied militia that controls the city said, raising fresh questions over who controls the border town, which is described as “critical” by Turkey.

Manbij has come into renewed focus since Turkey declared it the next target of the campaign it is waging with Syrian rebels in northern Syria to keep both ISIL and Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces and its armed wing the People’s Protection Unit (YPG) away from its border.

Ankara says the PYD and the YPG are extensions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Continued: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/questions-linger-on-who-controls-syrian-town-of-manbij.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110494&NewsCatID=352

@EC

Pretty curious news in all of this.

[TomSea]

Could Turkey’s misstep in Manbij provide template for Raqqa?
Turkish move blocked by Syrian forces

Summary

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest threat complicates Pentagon planning to oust the Islamic State from its so-called capital; United States provides intelligence for Iraqi strike in Syria.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/turkey-misstep-manbij-syria-template-raqqa-erdogan-iraq.html#ixzz4aYpnuSjg

[EC]

@EC

Pretty curious news in all of this.

@TomSea

It's a nervous situation. Turkey is, as usual, full of it when it comes to the YPG. They may be cautiously co-operating with Assad. They're killing every ISIS they see.

[TomSea]

Another story on foreigners joining the Kurds to fight.

 Fight IS, Start 'Revolution': Why Foreigners Join Syria Kurds
by Naharnet Newsdesk Yesterday

Captivated by the idea of fighting jihadists, or dedicated to starting a "revolution," foreigners have diverse reasons for joining the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The group is the key component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance, now advancing on the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqa.

Hundreds of foreign fighters have fought alongside the YPG in Syria, of whom at least 25 have been killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says.

- Kimmy -Kimmy Taylor, a 27-year-old British citizen, travelled to northern Syria in 2016 to write about women's rights after studying politics at university in Sweden.

She had planned a 10-day visit but, after just three days, she decided to stay.

Kimmy says she fell in love with the system of "autonomous administration" Kurdish authorities have implemented across northern Syria, describing it as "an answer to everything that I've seen wrong with the world".

Continued: http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/226615-fight-is-start-revolution-why-foreigners-join-syria-kurds

[TomSea]

Turkey warns U.S. relations at risk if Syrian Kurds help retake Raqqa
Posted on March 9, 2017 by Editorial Staff in Kurdistan, Politics

ANKARA,— The United States risks major damage to its relationship with NATO ally Turkey if the U.S. includes Syrian Kurdish forces in the fight to retake Raqqa, the Islamic State group’s de facto capital, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday.

Turkey and the U.S. are locked in a heated dispute about U.S. plans to liberate Raqqa, with Turkey insisting its own military and allied forces in Syria should mount the fight and that U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds should be excluded.

Though the U.S. has been hoping to include both Turkey and the battle-hardened Kurdish forces, Yildirim insisted Turkey wouldn’t be part of any operation including the Syrian Kurdish force known as the YPG, considered by Ankara to be terrorists who threaten Turkey’s security.

Continued: http://ekurd.net/turkey-warns-us-kurds-2017-03-09

So, if Turkey wants to lead the charge on Raqqa, that would mean less Kurds and others who would be sacrificed.

Wash. Post also reports the above: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-warns-us-relations-at-risk-if-kurds-help-retake-raqqa/2017/03/09/f48a344e-04c5-11e7-9d14-9724d48f5666_story.html

[TomSea]

McCain warns of war between Turks and Kurds in Syria
By Jamie McIntyre • 3/9/17 12:20 PM

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain is warning that the Trump administration is not paying enough attention to the possibility of open warfare between NATO ally Turkey and U.S.-backed Kurds in northern Syria.

"Unless something changes, I foresee a train wreck here," McCain, R-Ariz., said during questioning of Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of the U.S. Central Command who is responsible for the battle against the Islamic State in Syria.

"I think there's a possibility of an impending conflict between Turkey and the Kurds, as opposed to us working together to try to defeat ISIS and remove them from Raqqa." McCain said.

Continued: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/mccain-warns-of-war-between-turks-and-kurds-in-syria/article/2616918

[TomSea]

Kurdish vocalist Aynur Dogan receives prestigious award for excellence
By Rudaw

  Kurdish vocalist Aynur Dogan who has achieved a prominent place in the Kurdish music since she released her first album Kecha Kurdan (Kurdish girl) more than a decade ago. Photo: Dogan's official website.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish vocalist Aynur Dogan is to receive the Master of Mediterranean Music Award on Thursday in the United States from Berklee College, the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world.

Launched in 2014, the award recognizes excellence in the Middle Eastern music.
 
Dogan born in the Kurdish city of Dersim and raised in Istanbul has been a rising star in Kurdish music.

Continued: http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/150320171

[TomSea]

Gorran says Barzani’s KDP responsible for killing protesters in Sinjar
Posted on March 15, 2017 by Editorial Staff in Politics, Yazidis

SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which is headed by Massoud Barzani, is responsible for killing and wounding residents of Sinjar in northwest Iraq, the Change Movement (Gorran) bloc said.

Continued: http://ekurd.net/gorran-kdp-responsible-sinjar-2017-03-15

Barzani is the Kurdish President for that area I believe.

[TomSea]

Self-immolations on the Rise Among Iraqi Kurdish Women
By Laurene Daycard
AL Monitor
Posted 2017-03-16 03:39 GMT

Female Kurdish fighters, who represent less than 1% of the roughly 200,000 peshmerga forces, have become "the bankable icon" of the fight against the Islamic State. But beyond the illusions of a land that supports women's rights, the reality in Iraqi Kurdistan is much less glamorous.

According to nongovernmental organization Wadi, 57% of Iraqi Kurds between 14 and 19 years old underwent an excision of the clitoris. Honor killings by male family members are still common in Kurdistan, and many other women face forced and underage marriage, domestic violence or polygamy issues. Worse still, since the early 1990s, several thousand Iraqi Kurds died of self-immolation. In 2015, the Kurdistan Regional Government listed 125 deaths by self-immolation. In most cases, deaths are concealed behind the excuse of a random home accident, but Bahar Munzir, a popular activist for the rights of Kurdish women, told Al-Monitor that 500 such deaths occur each year.

More: http://aina.org/news/20170315233924.htm

Full article: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/immolations-iraq-kurdistan-women-violence.html

[TomSea]

The Kurds ring in the springtime; but Turkish government cancels the celebration. Well, does this look like celebrations?

Gov’t cancels Nevruz celebrations
By TM - March 16, 2017

A Kurdish man jumps over a Nevruz fire during celebrations marking the Kurdish New Year, on March 22, 2015 in İstanbul. Nevruz, which means "new day" in Kurdish and marks the first day of Spring, is also celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bahrain, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, as well as among various other Iranian and Turkic peoples in Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, northwestern China, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Balkans. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC / AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC

Celebrations planned for the spring festival of Nevruz in İstanbul and Ankara have been cancelled by the governors of the cities for security reasons, news website Diken reported on Thursday.

The governor’s offices expressed as a justification for the cancelations concerns about possible “tension and provocations between people who will participate in the celebrations and others.”

Nevruz is a spring festival traditionally marked in the second half of March and has a highly symbolic meaning for Kurds, with colorful celebrations across the predominantly Kurdish Southeast of Turkey.

Continued: http://www.turkishminute.com/2017/03/16/govt-cancels-nevruz-celebrations/

[TomSea]

In Iraq:

Kurdistan TV female reporter attacked by security forces in Sulaimani
Posted on March 17, 2017 by Editorial Staff in Journalism

Kurdistan TV female reporter Nashmil Mohammed attacked by security forces in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan, March 16, 2017. Photo: NRT


SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— A female Kurdish journalist from Kurdistan TV, which is close to KDP party, was hospitalized on Thursday after Kurdish security PUK forces attacked her while she was covering a football match in the city of Sulaimani.

...

Mohammed is now in a coma at Sulaimani Emergency Hospital, Aziz told the advocacy center.

More: http://ekurd.net/reporter-attacked-kurdistan-2017-03-17

[TomSea]

Iraq receives first batch of South Korean T-50 fighter jets
http://ekurd.net/iraq-south-korean-fighter-2017-03-17

Kurdistan
The pilot who defied Saddam's orders to gas Halabja
KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region — In a neighborhood of Kirkuk lives a family of a Baathist-executed Iraqi air force pilot.

The pilot Aydn Mustafa defied orders from Saddam Hussein, refusing to drop poisonous gasses on March 16, 1988, when 5,000 people were killed, 10,000 were injured and many continue to suffer from lingering effects.

Mustafa, a Turkmen, was born in 1949 in Kirkuk. He was held in solitary confinement until being executed August 29, 1988.

Continued: http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/170320172

[TomSea]

Although, the persecution in these reports is nothing compared to ISIS or even other parts of the world where Christians are persecuted, there does seem to be an uptick in such stories and also, as related to the persecution of Kurds in Iran.

64 ‘poorest of Iran’s poor Kurds’ kolbar died in 2016, report
By Rudaw yesterday at 11:45
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Sixty-four kolbar, Kurdish cross-border porters, “the poorest among Iran’s most poor Kurds,” lost their lives in 2016, according to a new report.

“n 2016 alone, 42 Kolber workers were directly shot dead, 30 were injured, and 22 drowned or died of hypothermia and other causes,” stated the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) in their annual report on the kolbar published Thursday.

The kolbar are semi-legal porters who carry goods on their backs, across the mountains from the Kurdistan Region to Iran. The France-based KHRN described the kolbar as one of the most forgotten groups, “the most abandoned section of the Iranian society. They are the poorest among Iran’s most poor Kurds.”

More: http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/30032017

[TomSea]

Kurdish voters stabbed by Turks outside Turkey’s consulate in Brussels

BRUSSELS,— Three Kurds were attacked by knife-wielding supporters of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Kurdish …
March 31, 2017 | 1 Top News, Kurdistan

According to Le Soir.be, there was a brawl at 4pm local time between opponents and supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Continued: http://ekurd.net/kurdish-voters-turkish-brussels-2017-03-31

[TomSea]

Six rescued bears set free in Kurdish national park

Asiatic brown bears are released into a park in the mountainous Kurdistan Region. Video: Rudaw

CHOMAN, Kurdistan Region — Six hand-raised Asiatic brown bears were set free on Monday in the wilds of Halgord National Park, a wildlife sanctuary north of the Kurdistan Region.

The bears had been working animals, forced to perform tricks like dancing and languished inside uncomfortable cages for much of their life, according to the Kurdish-American Organisation which secured their release.

The six bears had partly been trained for survival in the wild by the organisation before releasing them in the wild nature.

“They were being kept in very poor and inhumane conditions in different places across the Kurdistan Region. The owners made money by showing them to the public or simply making them dance,” said Bilind Birifkani, head of the Kurdish-American organisation, a joint venture that promotes friendly ties between Kurdistan and the US.

Continued: http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/090420171

I didn't realize they had national parks in the Kurdistan region or what country this is in exactly, I guess Kurdistan.

[TomSea]

The 14th of April, seems to be the day Saddam's crimes against Kurds are remembered, some call it genocide.

Iraqi parl’t approves proposal on remembrance of anti-Kurd Anfal campaign
Posted on April 15, 2017 by Editorial Staff in 1 Top News, Politics, Politics

BAGHDAD,— The Iraqi Parliament has approved a proposal regarding the Ba’ath Regime’s Anfal campaign against the people of the Kurdistan Region.

The fourteenth of April is the anniversary of the Anfal campaign against Kurds, which is believed to have killed and caused the disappearance of an estimated 182,000 Kurds.

The Anfal campaign, launched and led by Ba’ath Party Secretary-General Ali Hassan al-Majid – also known as Chemical Ali – is widely understood to have begun in 1986 and lasted through 1988. Ground offensives, aerial bombardments, systematic destruction of villages and mass deportations were used as part of the campaign.

A chemical weapons attack on Halabja in 1988, as part of the Anfal campaign, killed up to 5,000 people and wounded thousands more.

Continued: http://ekurd.net/iraqi-approves-proposal-anfal-2017-04-15

It's stylish to say nowadays, we should have never gone into Iraq; not sure. It is something to debate. I think we were a bit undermanned but it's not easy to talk when others lives are on the line.

[TomSea]

Turkey jails another pro-Kurdish deputy, bringing total to 14
By TM - April 20, 2017

HDP deputy Burcu Çelik

As part of an investigation launched into the outlawed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Burcu Çelik was arrested by a Muş court on Wednesday for “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “attempting to destroy the unity of the state and nation.”

Çelik was reportedly sent to Muş Prison late on Wednesday.

With the arrest of Çelik, the total number of pro-Kurdish deputies in jail has reached 14 including the party’s co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ.

Continued: https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/04/20/turkey-jails-another-pro-kurdish-deputy-bringing-total-to-14/

I know folks see the UN as largely impotent but shouldn't all of this be taken to the UN?

[TomSea]

Here is something, at least, Amnesty International, I don't care for because of their platform on "reproductive rights"; but one thing doesn't make everything they do bad. It may mean that one is less likely to give them a donation though.:

April 21, 2017 12:00AM EDT
Joint Letter to Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the Deterioration of Human Rights in Turkey

Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

21 April 2017

Re: Addressing the serious deterioration of human rights in Turkey

Dear Assembly Member,

We are writing, ahead of the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), to call on you to support the recommendation included in the report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) to reopen the monitoring procedure on the situation in Turkey until the grave concerns raised by the Rapporteurs are duly addressed by the Government of Turkey.

We believe that a decision by PACE to reopen the monitoring procedure would send a strong message to Turkey and indicate a commitment to holding the government and president accountable for their repeated failure to respect their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and as a member of the Council of Europe.

Only a decision to reopen full monitoring of the situation in Turkey would acknowledge the grave human rights violations documented in the country in recent years, including the severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly, the practice of torture and ill-treatment in detention, arbitrary detentions, prosecutions, dismissals, confiscation of passports and property, and continued violence and serious abuses in South East Turkey. It would allow for greater scrutiny by members of the Parliamentary Assembly and create a more appropriate forum to debate the actions the Turkish authorities should take to address the Assembly’s concerns. It would provide a recognition by the Assembly of the rapid deterioration since July 2016 of the functioning of democratic institutions and backsliding on human rights and the rule of law in the country.

Turkey is under a state of emergency imposed after a failed coup last July, allowing President Erdoğan to head the cabinet and rule the country by decree, with weakened parliamentary and judicial oversight.

Independent mainstream media in Turkey have been all but silenced, with over 160 media outlets and publishing houses closed down since July 2016, and around 150 journalists and media workers currently jailed pending trial. Over 100,000 civil servants have been summarily dismissed or suspended without due process and over 47,000 people have been jailed pending trial. They face charges of involvement in the coup plot and of association either with the Fethullah Gülen movement, branded a terrorist organization by the government, or with Kurdish political activism that the government considers is linked to the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Among those jailed are the two leaders of the opposition Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) and 12 other members of parliament from the party.

The constitutional amendments approved by referendum on April 16, 2017 will give the president an immediate right to playing a leading role in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament and the power - as president and through parliament - to control most appointments to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors. The impact of this will be to ensure the president wields enormous influence over the entire judiciary. In a context where courts are already under political influence, the future prospects for judicial independence in Turkey will be scant. After elections in November 2019 the president will have full authority to appoint all ministers, legislate by decree, and dissolve and reconstitute parliament. The constitutional changes will fundamentally curtail parliamentary oversight of the executive, including by ending no confidence motions and by ending the precondition of parliamentary scrutiny and approval of the president’s budget.

The 16 April constitutional referendum took place in a highly repressive climate. The continuation of the state of emergency measures, the control of media by the government and the detention of critical journalists and leaders of the pro-Kurdish parliamentary opposition contributed to severely restrict the possibility for open public debate on the constitutional amendments. The PACE and OSCE/ODIHR election observation missions raised serious concerns about the climate for the referendum and criticized the decision to accept ballots in envelopes not bearing official polling station stamps. Several opposition parties raised profound concerns about possible election fraud and irregularities during the constitutional referendum. On 18 April, the European Commission called on the authorities to launch transparent investigations into alleged irregularities.

Finally, the cabinet’s decision to extend the state of emergency for three months shortly after the announcement of the referendum result and the president’s support for reintroducing the death penalty further endanger the human rights situation and the rule of law in the country. In a statement on 19 April, the PACE Rapporteur on abolition of the death penalty stressed that “reintroducing the death penalty would be simply incompatible with Turkey’s continued membership of the Council of Europe.”

The government of Turkey has largely ignored the concerns raised by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe in a 13 March opinion on the constitutional amendments and about holding a referendum on the constitution in such a context.

By considering the report on “The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey” of its Monitoring Committee, the Parliamentary Assembly has a unique opportunity to uphold the principles and obligations contained in the European Convention on Human Rights and the values of the Council of Europe. We urge you once again to vocally support the recommendation contained in this report  “to reopen the monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey until its concerns are addressed in a satisfactory manner.”

Over the past decades, and in July 2016 by opposing the attempted coup, the population of Turkey has demonstrated its attachment to democracy and human rights. It deserves your full support in calling for the restoration of full respect for human rights in Turkey and for the reaffirmation by the Turkish authorities of their respect for international and regional human rights commitments.

Sincerely,

    Amnesty International
    Article 19
    Human Rights Watch
    PEN International

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/04/21/joint-letter-parliamentary-assembly-council-europe-deterioration-human-rights-turkey

[TomSea]

LIVE UPDATES: Five Peshmerga killed in Turkish air strike on Mount Shingal
By Rudaw 1 hour ago
Video: Aftermath of Turkish airstrikes on Mount Shingal.

The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in a statement to condemn Turkish airstrikes which left five Peshmerga dead and nine others wounded announced the “imposed presence” of PKK fighters in the Shingal region resulted in the incident.

“Once again, we remind our people and all the other parties of the fact that this incident or any of such kind is due to the inappropriate imposed presence of the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, which has not brought any benefits, only chaos.”

PKK also lays the responsibility on the shoulders of the PKK for preventing the reconstruction of the region and seeking out confrontations.

Continued: http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/250420171

Reportedly, Turkey bombing Iraqi Kurdistan.

[Bigun]

@TomSea

It's a nervous situation. Turkey is, as usual, full of it when it comes to the YPG. They may be cautiously co-operating with Assad. They're killing every ISIS they see.

@EC

It appears to me that Obama has accomplished in Turkey with Erdogen what Carter accomplished in Iran with the Mullahs!

[TomSea]

This bombing of Kurdish fighters in Iraq is being reported on fox on the hour radio news; maybe there is the possibility this could flare into something more and bigger.

Turkey air strikes kill Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq
    25 April 2017

At least 18 Kurdish fighters battling the so-called Islamic State in Syria have been killed in air strikes by Turkey.

The Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia said its positions were hit by multiple strikes early on Tuesday.

The group is backed by the United States, which sees it as a key component of the fight against IS.

But Turkey said it hit "terror hubs" linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring organisation, said a dawn strike on Tuesday morning targeted Kurdish positions in Hassakeh province in north-east Syria, hitting a media centre and radio station.

A separate series of strikes hit a base near Sinjar in northern Iraq, close to the Syrian border, killing at least six fighters from the Peshmerga, the military forces of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39708909

Pretty darn serious.