Türkiye in Talks with Russia About Using Syrian Airspace in Potential Operation

Turkish F-16 jets at Türkiye's Incirlik air base - Reuters
Turkish F-16 jets at Türkiye's Incirlik air base - Reuters
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Türkiye in Talks with Russia About Using Syrian Airspace in Potential Operation

Turkish F-16 jets at Türkiye's Incirlik air base - Reuters
Turkish F-16 jets at Türkiye's Incirlik air base - Reuters

Türkiye is in talks with Russia to use the airspace above northern Syria for a potential cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.

Türkiye has carried out several incursions into northern Syria against the YPG and has been threatening a new incursion for months. It stepped up preparations last month after a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul it blamed on Kurdish militants.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the YPG, have denied involvement in the bombing of the busy pedestrian avenue.

Türkiye launched air strikes against YPG targets in November and President Tayyip Erdogan signaled a possible ground offensive.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Akar said Ankara was in talks with Moscow, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, about the operation.



Drone Attack Targets Tawke Oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan

General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
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Drone Attack Targets Tawke Oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan

General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
General view of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

A drone attack targeted an oilfield operated by Norwegian oil and gas firm DNO in Tawke, in the Zakho Administration area of northern Iraq, on Thursday, the Kurdistan region's counter-terrorism service said.

The attack is the second on the DNO-operated field since a wave of drone attacks began early this week.

DNO, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabour oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Türkiye, temporarily suspended production at the fields following explosions that caused no injuries, the counter-terrorism service said.

DNO did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

This week's drone attacks have reduced oil output from oilfields in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by between 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, two energy officials said on Wednesday, as infrastructure damage forced multiple shutdowns.