Pentagon condemns rocket attacks on Turkey’s Kilis

WASHINGTON – Anadolu Agency

The Pentagon on Feb. 1 condemned recent rocket attacks by People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants on the Turkish city of Kilis that targeted civilians.

At a news conference along with Pentagon spokesman Dana W. White, Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie said he did not have any information on it but condemns any attacks on Turkey.

“We are working with Turkey to try to minimize the effect of this threat,” McKenzie said.

Asked by state-run Anadolu Agency about the Pentagon’s promise to retrieve weapons given to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the liberation of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), McKenzie said supplies will be collected after the conclusion of operations against ISIL.

He added, however, that operations are still in progress near the Euphrates Valley and weapons are being used for good purposes by the SDF.

In the latest attack, a rocket fired by YPG militants in Syria hit Kilis on Feb. 1, amid a Turkey-led military operation against the YPG in the northwestern Syrian district of Afrin.

Anadolu Agency reported from the region that a rocket hit an office building in the city center, injuring one civilian, who was taken to the state hospital as security officers secured the area.