The US has said it is deeply concerned about Turkish airstrikes in an area of northern Syria where American special forces are operating.
The strikes killed at least 20 members of the Kurdish militia the YPG, including three of its press team, in the Qarachok area close to the Iraqi and Turkish borders. They represent the biggest escalation to date in tensions between Turkey, which views the YPG as a terrorist organisation, and its Nato ally the US, which has made the militia its main partner in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.
This morning Turkish aircraft struck positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist group, in northern Iraq.
In responce to the initial raids yesterday Mark Toner, the