Turkey Is Bombing Both ISIS and Kurds Linked to Forces Fighting Militants

Turkey’s abrupt decision to jump into the fight against ISIS with airstrikes should have been a win for the U.S. — but the package deal that came with the operations has put its allies in a pickle.

 

ISIS has not been the sole target of Ankara’s freshly-launched firepower: Turkish warplanes have also started bombing Kurdish fighters linked to very forces battling ISIS. How is it, then, that Turkey is fighting both sides of the same war? It’s complicated.

 

Turkey’s initial lack of enthusiasm to the anti-ISIS coalition was not well received: The key U.S. ally boasts NATO’s second-largest army and a crucial geographic position, sharing long borders with Syria and Iraq.

 

While Ankara had until last week been prioritizing unseating Syrian President Bashar Assad over direct engagement in the war against the Sunni militants, that policy shifted in wake of a deadly ISIS attack in the Turkish city of Suruc.

 

Read More: Turkey Is Bombing Both ISIS and Kurds Linked to Forces Fighting Militants – NBC News