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Turkey Threatens Attack on Syrian Kurds as US Envoy Holds Talks With Ankara

Dorian Jones

   ISTANBUL - Tensions between the United States and Turkey are increasing
   as Washington's special representative for Syria engagement, Ambassador
   James Jeffrey, visits Ankara in a bid to iron out differences with its
   NATO ally. Ankara has threatened military action against Syrian Kurdish
   militia the YPG, unless the two countries agree on steps to distance
   the YPG from the Turkish border.

   The YPG is a key U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic State
   terrorists. Ankara, however, links the militia to the Kurdish rebel
   group, the PKK, which has been fighting a decades-long insurgency
   against Turkey. Turkish forces are continuing to mass on Syria's
   border, where the YPG is based.