According to National Interest magazine, Gen. Kenneth Mackenzie, the head of US Central Command at Centcom, backed Turkey's recent attacks on the PKK forces in the Kurdistan Region.

He added that the United States considers the PKK a terrorist organization that has carried out attacks against Turkey. Turkey's attacks on this force are due to its legitimate security interests, adding that the Turkish military operation has caused dispute and discord.

Meanwhile, Mackenzie expressed concern about the continuation of Turkish attacks against the PKK in the Kurdistan region.

Many critics of the attacks, including the Iraqi government, have called Turkey's attacks inside Iraq, which killed civilians as well as several Iraqi forces, a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

The chief of staff of the US Central Command tried to justify the deaths of Kurdish civilians or Iraqi forces by emphasizing the possibility of miscalculations in the war. "Obviously, when targets are attacked, the probability of miscalculation is very high, and as a result, the probability of collateral damage is very high," he told a US Peace Institute online conference.

He also reiterated Turkey's concern about Syria.

"We consider the PKK a terrorist organization, but we have a different view about the Syrian Democratic Forces (Kurdish forces)," the general said of the US position on the Kurdish forces in Syria, adding that “We do not see these forces as identical with the PKK.”

Reporter’s code: 50101