"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."