Iraqi army engineers seen building a bridge over the Euphrates River 115 kilometers west of Baghdad, Iraq

Turkey has not allowed and will not allow the Syrian Kurdish PYD, which is fighting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria but has links to the outlawed PKK militant group in Turkey, to cross west of the Euphrates river, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Erdogan dismissed suggestions that fighters from the Kurdish militia had already crossed the river.

“This is all gossip. We haven’t allowed it up until now. Even if there are partial movements, we won’t allow such a thing,” he said.

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