The U.S. State Department on Monday expressed its "sincere" condolences over civilians killed in Türkiye and Syria while refraining from condemning the PKK/YPG’s terrorist attacks on Türkiye, including one on a school in Türkiye that resulted in the death of a child and teacher.
"The United States expresses its sincere condolences for the loss of civilian life in Syria and Türkiye," the department’s spokesperson said in a statement released late on Monday in regards to Operation Claw-Sword Türkiye has launched against terrorist nests in the north of Iraq and Syria, as well as the PKK/YPG’s rocket attacks targeting civilians in the country’s southeast.
"We urge de-escalation in Syria to protect civilian life and support the common goal of defeating ISIS," the statement said, using the alternate acronym for Daesh. "We continue to oppose any uncoordinated military action in Iraq that violates Iraq’s sovereignty," the statement added as it avoided making any condemnations.
Civilians targeted
Hammered down to near extinction by operations the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have been conducting to eradicate the terror corridor along its southern border, the terrorist group PKK and its Syrian branch YPG have resorted to targeting civilians in the country’s south.
Following the bloody attack on Istanbul’s bustling Istiklal Street that left at least six dead and 81 injured on Nov. 13, the terrorist group fired rockets into civilian areas in Türkiye’s southeastern provinces Gaziantep and Kilis earlier on Monday killing further Turkish civilians, including a child.
The terrorists launched 10 rockets into Gaziantep’s Karkamış district throughout the day, according to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. The rockets struck a high school, two homes, and a trailer near the border gate, while some others fell on an empty field.
Two civilians, including a teacher and a child, were killed and 11 others were wounded in the attack. A pregnant woman who was initially pronounced dead was reportedly hospitalized for treatment.
Nobody was injured or killed in another rocket attack on the Öncüpınar Border Gate in the Kilis province the same day. A previous attack on Sunday night, however, had left eight Turkish security personnel wounded.
The terrorist group has indiscriminately dropped 18 mortar bombs on civilians in the region since Sunday.
The said attacks came hours after the PKK/YPG vowed retaliation against Türkiye for its counterterrorism offensive Operation Claw-Sword aimed at eradicating terror elements in northern Iraq and Syria. Türkiye’s operation followed the Istanbul attack, for which Ankara said the PKK was responsible.
According to Defense Minister Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, 184 terrorists have been eliminated so far by ground fire support vehicles and aircraft since the start of the offensive.