Jan 21, 2018

Turkey gave Washington advance warning before launching an operation against US-allied Syrian Kurdish forces, and Ankara has "legitimate" security concerns in the area, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday.

"Turkey was candid. They warned us before they launched the aircraft they were going to do it in consultation with us, and we are working now on the way ahead through the ministry of foreign affairs," Mattis told reporters aboard his aircraft at the start of a trip to Asia.

Turkey "is the only NATO country with an active insurgency inside its borders, and Turkey has legitimate security concerns," Mattis said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been engage

d in a separatist struggle against Ankara since 1984.

Turkey launched "Operation Olive Branch," an offensive by Ankara's troops and allied Syrian rebels against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the town of Afrin.