Turkey signals a new military intervention in Syria if Kurdish groups hold local elections

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s president says his country won’t hesitate to launch a new offensive in northern Syria if Kurdish groups there go ahead with plans to hold local elections. A Kurdish-led autonomous administration that controls northern and eastern parts of Syria has announced plans to hold municipal elections on June 11. Turkey has launched military operations in Syria in the past. Turkey considers the move as a step by Syrian Kurdish militia toward the creation of an independent Kurdish entity across its border. It has described the planned polls as a threat to the territorial integrity of both Syria and Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey would never allow the creation of a “terror state.”