Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Syria of letting Turkey's Kurdish rebels operate inside the north of the country and warned that Ankara would not hesitate to strike against them.

"In the north, it (President Bashar al-Assad's regime) has allotted five provinces to the Kurds, to the terrorist organisation," Erdogan told Turkish television late Wednesday, referring to the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). Asked if Ankara would strike fleeing rebels after an attack on Turkish soil, Erdogan said "That's not even a matter of discussion, it is a given. That is the objective, that is what must be done."