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| Turkey, Ankara-backed rebels launch op to retake Syrian town from ISIS | Turkey, Ankara-backed rebels launch op to retake Syrian town from ISIS |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Ankara has begun a military operation with the aim of retaking the Syrian town of Jarablus from the hands of the Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL), state-run press agency Anadolu Agency reported. The Turkish army is reportedly backing Islamist rebels fighting IS. | Ankara has begun a military operation with the aim of retaking the Syrian town of Jarablus from the hands of the Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL), state-run press agency Anadolu Agency reported. The Turkish army is reportedly backing Islamist rebels fighting IS. |
| Turkish military employed intense artillery fire against Islamic State fighters in Jarabulus, officials told the Turkish media. | |
| The troops managed to get close to the town quickly, with reports saying that the troops are just 5 kilometers away. | |
| The operation is receiving air support. The Turkish air force has hit IS targets in northern Syria, according to Anadolu. | The operation is receiving air support. The Turkish air force has hit IS targets in northern Syria, according to Anadolu. |
| “Operation in Jarabulus aims to prevent new flows of migration, deliver aid to civilians, clear area of terrorist elements,” the news agency tweeted. The military advance began at around 4 a.m. local time. | |
| Turkish special forces have crossed the border into northern Syria, but the ground operation is yet to begin, Reuters quoted a senior Turkish official and military sources as saying. Turkish warplanes along with US-led coalition aircraft are still working on opening up a safe passage for the troops. | |
| So far four strikes have been carried out against Islamic State targets. Meanwhile, Turkish artillery fired at 63 Islamic State targets 224 times. | |
| Turkey-backed militants set to race US-supported Kurds for ISIS-held Syrian town | |
| “The aim of the operation is to ensure border security and Syria's territorial integrity while supporting the US-led coalition against Islamic State,” a military source said. | |
| The decision to move in on Jarabulus is said to have come after a number of mortar bombs hit a residential Turkish area near the Syrian border on Tuesday morning. | |
| But other reports have pointed to the fact that it comes at a time when a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters is also making a push toward the border town. | But other reports have pointed to the fact that it comes at a time when a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters is also making a push toward the border town. |
| The Kurdish-led force has taken full control of nearby Manbij by driving IS militants out of the city, which was used by terrorists to smuggle weapons and goods. | The Kurdish-led force has taken full control of nearby Manbij by driving IS militants out of the city, which was used by terrorists to smuggle weapons and goods. |
| Ankara has been concerned over the autonomy of Kurds in Syria as Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of the Democratic Union Party of Syria (PYD), with the help of American-led airstrikes, continue to capture vast swathes of territory in northern Syria, which borders Kurdish-dominated southeast Turkey, where Ankara has engaged the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a brutal military campaign for over a year. | |
| Turkey has repeatedly stressed that it would not tolerate Kurds staying west of the Euphrates River, with YPG-PYD advances in northern Syria remaining the key security issue for Ankara. The Turkish government has labeled both groups as terrorist organizations, despite their fierce efforts in fighting Islamic State. | |
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