土耳其：军方对叙利亚库尔德人予以还击

Turkey's military said Wednesday its forces destroyed Syrian Kurdish targets overnight in retaliation for artillery fire against Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria.

A Turkish army statement said the clashes happened in the Afrin area.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, are a key part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and in particular the ongoing fight to defeat Islamic State militants in the group's de facto capital of Raqqa.

But Turkey strongly opposes the Kurdish fighters, seeing them as linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, that has been waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.

U.S. support for the YPG includes weapons deliveries that Turkey fears will end up in the hands of PKK fighters.

The Turkish government has said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave reassurances that the United States would take back those weapons after Raqqa falls, but Mattis indicated Tuesday that U.S. support for the YPG would continue.

"We'll do what we can," Mattis told reporters traveling with him. But he said the weapons provided to the YPG will depend on the what the next mission is.

"When they don't need certain things anymore, we'll replace those with something they do need," Mattis said.

The U.S. defense chief is due to meet Thursday with his Turkish counterpart during a NATO meeting in Brussels.

土耳其军方星期三说，土耳其部队夜间摧毁了叙利亚的库尔德目标，作为对库尔德人在叙利亚北部对土耳其支持的部队发动炮击的报复。

土耳其军方发表声明说，冲突发生在阿夫林地区。

库尔德人民保卫部队是美国支持的叙利亚民主部队的一个主要组成部分，在打击伊斯兰国大本营拉卡的伊斯兰国激进分子的战斗中尤其发挥着重要作用。

但是土耳其坚决反对库尔德武装力量，认为他们跟被土耳其取缔的库尔德工人党有着千丝万缕的联系。库尔德工人党自上世纪80年代以来，一直在土耳其东南部开展反叛活动。

美国对库尔德人民保卫部队的支持包括向他们输送武器，而土耳其担心，这些武器最终会落到库尔德工人党战斗人员的手中。

土耳其政府曾表示，美国国防部长马蒂斯保证过，一旦拉卡陷落，美国就会收回这些武器，但是马蒂斯星期二表示，美国对库尔德人民保卫部队的支持将继续下去。

马蒂斯告诉随行记者说：“我们会尽力而为。”但是他也表示，向库尔德人民保卫部队提供什么样的武器要取决于接下来的行动。

马蒂斯说：“如果他们不需要特定的装备了，我们就更换成他们所需要的。”

马蒂斯星期四在布鲁塞尔参加北约会议时将会见土耳其国防部长。