ISTANBUL: Turkey’s armed forces on Sunday began annual exercises in the breakaway republic of northern Cyprus — an entity recognized only by Ankara — as tensions brewed with Greece in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey’s hunt for gas and oil reserves in waters claimed by Greece has put huge strain on the relationship between the two NATO members.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday raised the stakes and warned Greece: “They will either understand the language of politics and diplomacy, or on the field through bitter experiences.”
NATO said earlier technical talks would start to avoid incidents between the two countries’ navies, but Athens said it had not agreed to the talks and Ankara accused Greece of shunning dialogue.
As the tension ran high, the Turkish military began its exercises called “Mediterranean Storm” with the Turkish Cypriot Security Command, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter.
“The security priorities of our country and the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) are indispensable,” Oktay said.
The Turkish defense ministry also tweeted that the exercises, which are due to last until Thursday, continued “successfully.”
Cyprus is divided between the Greek Cypriot-run south — an EU member state — and the Turkish Cypriot north.
Turkey has stationed tens of thousands of troops in the north of the island since its 1974 invasion, which followed a coup engineered by military rulers in Athens.
Turkey begins military exercises in north Cyprus
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Turkey begins military exercises in north Cyprus
- Turkey’s hunt for gas and oil reserves in waters claimed by Greece has put huge strain on the relationship between the two NATO members
- The Turkish military began its exercises called “Mediterranean Storm” with the Turkish Cypriot Security Command
US launches new retaliatory strikes against Daesh in Syria after deadly ambush
- CENTCOM said operation ordered by President Donald Trump
- Launched in response to the deadly Dec. 13 Daesh attack in Palmyra
WASHINGTON: The US has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Daesh in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.
The large-scale strikes, conducted by the US alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to US Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Daesh targets across Syria.
Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly Daesh attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.
“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” US Central Command said in a statement Saturday.
A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of Daesh’s operations in the Levant.
The US military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.
The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.
It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had Daesh infrastructure and weapons.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the US’s main partner in the fight against Daesh in Syria, but since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been coordinating with the central government in Damascus.
Syria recently joined the global coalition against Daesh.
