Türkiye plans to pursue targets in northern Syria after it completes a cross-border operation against PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, a senior official said on Tuesday, after a deadly weekend bomb in Istanbul.
The government blamed the PKK for the blast on Istanbul's Istiklal Street on Sunday that killed six people and injured more than 80.
Threats posed by the PKK or Daesh terrorist groups to Türkiye are unacceptable, the official told Reuters, adding that Ankara will clear threats along its southern border "one way or another."
"Syria is a national security problem for Türkiye. There is work being done on this already," the official said, declining to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
"There is an ongoing operation against the PKK in Iraq. There are certain targets in Syria after that is completed."
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast on the busy pedestrian avenue, and the PKK and its Syrian wing YPG have denied involvement.
While the PKK is deemed a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, Washington allied with the YPG against Daesh in the conflict in Syria.
The PKK/YPG control large parts of northern Syria and is regarded by Washington as an important ally against Daesh despite its NATO ally Türkiye's major security concerns and warnings.
Erdoğan recently said that Türkiye's plan for a new military operation in northern Syria will be on the table as long as the YPG continues to pose a security threat to his country.
In May, Erdoğan announced plans for a new military operation in Syria to drive away the PKK/YPG. The plans include resuming Turkish efforts to create a 30-kilometer (20-mile) safe zone along the border with Syria and enabling the voluntary return of Syrian refugees from Türkiye.
Türkiye has launched three major cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and already controls some territories in the north. Turkish-backed operations in previous years have ousted the YPG and Daesh terrorists from the northwestern enclave of Afrin and a series of border towns further east. Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
Erdoğan has said that since the United States and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Türkiye is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the YPG. In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Türkiye during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone.
