Turkey Denies Striking Syrian Kurds

A Turkish government official said Monday that the country is not targeting Kurdish units fighting ISIS in Syria, after airstrikes ostensibly meant for the Islamic State rained down upon them. "The ongoing military operation seeks to neutralize imminent threats to Turkey's national security and continues to target ISIS in Syria and the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] in Iraq," the official said. He added, "PYD [the Democratic Union Party], along with others, remains outside the scope of the current military effort." Turkey considers the Turkey and Iraq-based PKK a terrorist group, which allegedly assassinated two off-duty Turkish police officers last week. "We are fighting against all terrorist organizations," the official said.