In Turkey

Turkey on April 29 slammed a statement by the European External Action Service on the recent terrorist attack by the YPG/PKK in Afrin, northwestern Syria.

Fahrettin Altun, the country's communications director, said on Twitter that the press release by the European Union's diplomatic service shows the union still has not adopted the right stance in the fight against terrorism.

At least 40 civilians, including 11 children, were killed on April 28 in a YPG/PKK terrorist attack in northwestern Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said.

At least 47 others were also wounded in the attack in the Afrin city center carried out using a bomb-rigged fuel tanker, the ministry said in a tweet.

Turkish officials and international leaders condemned a terrorist attack by the YPG in Afrin in northwestern Syria that killed dozens of civilians, including children on April 28.

Turkish forces neutralized two PKK terrorists as part of a counter-terrorism operation in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said on April 28.

Turkish security forces neutralized at least 20 YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, near Turkey's southern border, the  Defense Ministry said on April 25.

Critics of the AKP and its leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, say they are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to exact political revenge for the party's loss of most major cities in Turkey to the opposition in last year's local elections.

Erdogan, they say, is determined to prevent the likes of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu from making further gains.

Turkey has expressed concerns in a meeting with Russia and Iran over the acts by the YPG in eastern Syria to legitimize itself through fait accompli.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif came together in a teleconference on April 22 as the three guarantor countries under the Astana Process.

Turkey "neutralized" 112 PKK terrorists in domestic operations since last week, the Interior Ministry said on April 22. 

Turkey "neutralized" 112 PKK terrorists in domestic operations since last week, the Interior Ministry said on April 22. 

The counter-terrorism operations, being carried out by gendarmerie and police forces, began on April 15 to thwart terrorist attacks, the ministry said in a statement.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Iran will hold a teleconference meeting on April 22 to discuss the developments in the Idlib province of Syria amid a fragile ceasefire between the Turkish army and Syrian regime forces.