Syrian Christian militia condemns Turkish airstrikes targeting U.S.-backed Kurds

A Christian militia in Syria has condemned Turkey for launching airstrikes against U.S.-backed Kurdish allies who were fighting against the Islamic State.

On Tuesday, the Turkish military launched a series of airstrikes targeting the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), which has played an important role in the American-backed operations in Syria against ISIS.

According to the New York Times, Turkey informed the U.S. less than an hour in advance before it carried out the bombing raids in the airspace over northern Syria and Iraq. American officials had asked Turkey not to go through with the raid without proper coordination, but the request was ignored.

The airstrikes reportedly targeted Christian and Yazidi communities in Syria and Iraq, alleging that the regions were aiding and abetting the U.S.-designated terrorist group Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which was also targeted in the raid.

The Christian militia known as the Syriac Military Council had accused Turkey of "continuing the genocidal and anti-democratic campaigns" of the Ottoman Empire.

"This attack came at the 102nd commemoration of the Syriac Assyrian, Armenian and Greek genocide 'Sayfo,' while Turkey is continuing the same policies against the people living in the Middle East, trying to overthrow the democratic project that our people are working together to reach a political and administrational system based on pluralism, justice, equality and democracy," the militia said in a statement, according to the Clarion Project.

The bombings reportedly killed 40 Kurdish fighters in Iraq and 30 in Syria. The Kurds in Syria belonged to the YPG, which is considered by Turkey as a part of the PKK, which has been identified as a Marxist terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.

The YPG is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is a multi-ethnic coalition that is leading the fight against ISIS in the region.

American forces have relied on the YPG for years to provide ground intelligence in airstrikes against ISIS.

Masrour Barzani, a top Kurdish security official in the Iraqi autonomous region, said that the Turkish attack on Mount Sinjar came as a surprise.

"This was the first time they have been bombing there. They had been mostly bombing border areas," Barzani said.

The raids in Sinjar area was denounced by Iraq's Foreign Ministry as a violation of the country's sovereignty.

Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said the U.S. was "deeply concerned" about the airstrikes, adding that the raids were "not approved" by the U.S.-led coalition fighting against ISIS.

The Syriac Military Council called on the international community to oppose Turkish "aggression," and it also asked the U.S. to support the Christians and Kurds in the SDF.