Turkey’s Fight Against ISIS Explained

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/world/europe/turkeys-fight-against-isis-explained.html

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Turkey and the United States have taken a major step toward confronting the Islamic State militant group and trying to address the Syrian conflict.

Turkey recently gave the United States two bases from which to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State and agreed to cooperate with the United States and certain Syrian rebel groups in their battle against the group.

Though Turkey opposes the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, it was not until very recently that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was willing to confront fighters from the group who have streamed into Syria across Turkey’s border.

The Islamic State attacked new areas along the Turkey-Syria border last week, and the Turkish government blamed the militant group for a deadly bombing in the eastern Turkish town of Suruc.

Political analysts in Turkey say the government has become increasingly concerned with the territorial gains made by Kurdish militias that have been the United States’ main partners in combating the Islamic State in Syria. By coming off the sidelines to join the American effort, Turkey can create a “safe zone” for the Syrian opposition and thwart any additional gains by the Kurds.

Turkey has been more focused on blunting Kurdish militant groups than on defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Just last week, Turkish jets bombed Kurdish militia targets in northern Iraq on the same day that fighter jets also struck three Islamic State targets in Syria.

The Turkish government also arrested hundreds of people it said had ties to terrorist organizations. The government uses that designation for Islamic State militants and for members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K., which fought the Turkish government for Kurdish independence for decades.

The Kurdish Y.P.G. militias in Syria are fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad. They have also been some of the most successful forces in combating the Islamic State there. The Y.P.G. is affiliated with the P.K.K., which Turkey considers its adversary.

Turkish forces have bombed P.K.K. positions and arrested hundreds of Kurdish activists. The new deal between the United States and Turkey discounts the Kurdish militias affiliated with the P.K.K.

Mr. Erdogan said on Tuesday that peace with the Kurdish militants was not possible, indicating that he will likely continue to press his campaign against some Kurdish fighters while he simultaneously cooperates with the Americans in the mission against the Islamic State.

The Iraqi Kurds, a crucial American ally in the region, have said they support the new American and Turkish cooperation.