On August 24, The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) began its "Euphrates Shield" operation with the assistance of the United States and other coalition forces against DAESH/ISIS, the militant extremist terrorist group that has increasingly targeted Turkey.
The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) supports Turkey's efforts fighting DAESH/ISIS and its initiative to engage in discussions with Russia and Syria to end the civil war in Syria. Turkey has welcomed 3 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country worldwide, since Syria's civil war began.
ATAA also commends U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's following statement on Wednesday, August 24 in a press conference in Ankara.
Joe Biden said: "We strongly support what the Turkish military has done. We have been flying air cover for them. We believe very strongly that the Turkish border should be controlled by Turkey."
Since the 1960s, Turkey has been a target of terrorism by Armenian extremists groups, ASALA and JCAG, the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization PKK, and more recently by DAESH/ISIS.
In a recent suicide attack targeting a wedding ceremony in Gaziantep province, 51 civilians were killed and 94 others wounded. DAESH/ISIS was blamed for the attack. Another DAESH/ISIS attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in June 2016 killed 42 people and wounded more than 230 others.
On October 10, 2015, two bombs exploding at a peace rally in Ankara claimed the lives of 100 people and left 391 wounded. DAESH/ISIS militants were blamed for the attack.
On March 13, 2016, a suicide attack in Ankara, Turkey killed 36 people and wounded more than 125 others. According to Turkish officials the female suicide bomber has been a part of the PKK and later crossed into Syria and received training from the terrorist group YPG. Turkey considers the YPG as a Syrian extension of the PKK.
The latest PKK attacks involved three car bombings targeting police stations in Cizre, Elazig and Van, and a remotely-detonated car bomb aimed at a military vehicle carrying soldiers in Bitlis, killing 25 and wounding more than 300.
On August 26, the PKK attacked a convoy carrying
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader, in Artvin. The attack claimed the life of a Turkish military officer and injured 3 others.
As the preeminent organization representing the Turkish-American community, ATAA strongly condemns these crimes against humanity and offers its heartfelt condolences to the families of victims who have perished as a result of these terrorist activities.
