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Turkey boosts troop levels on Syrian border amid Islamic State siege Turkey boosts troop levels on Syrian border amid Islamic State siege
(about 3 hours later)
BAGHDAD—Turkey bolstered security on its border with Syria on Tuesday, sending hundreds of soldiers and tanks in a bid to contain a refu­gee exodus and potential violent spillover from an Islamic State siege just across the frontier.BAGHDAD—Turkey bolstered security on its border with Syria on Tuesday, sending hundreds of soldiers and tanks in a bid to contain a refu­gee exodus and potential violent spillover from an Islamic State siege just across the frontier.
The militants’ offensive on the Syrian town of Kobane has caused more than 160,000 refugees to flee into Turkey in the past week, and shells from the fighting have landed in Turkish territory.The militants’ offensive on the Syrian town of Kobane has caused more than 160,000 refugees to flee into Turkey in the past week, and shells from the fighting have landed in Turkish territory.
The Turkish troops join other forces, including paramilitary units, along the border.The Turkish troops join other forces, including paramilitary units, along the border.
Recent airstrikes have sought to the drive back the Islamic State fighters from Kobane, which is protected by Syrian Kurdish forces. But clashes persist outside the strategic city. It’s fall to the Islamic State would give the group control of a large stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border and possibly open new routes for supplies and recruits. Recent airstrikes have sought to the drive back the Islamic State fighters from Kobane, which is protected by Syrian Kurdish forces. But clashes persist outside the strategic city. Its fall to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, would give the group control of a large stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border and possibly open new routes for supplies and recruits.
NATO-member Turkey has long maintained a hands-off approach to the Islamist militants, and has not joined the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the group in Syria and Iraq. “Each time ISIS makes progress, the coalition strikes behind them,” said Ojlan Esso, a spokesman for the Kurdish fighting force in Kobane. “This happened in several villages.”
But Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reported that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss potential military options in Iraq and Syria. Possible cross-border operations by Turkey’s powerful and well-equipped military would mark a significant change in the international confrontation with the Islamic State. Armed Kurds have been defending Kobane since Islamic State forces approached on Sep. 15. Hundreds of Kurds from Turkey have also sneaked across the border to Syria to aid their brethren in the fight against the Islamic State.
Kurdish troops in Iraq, meanwhile, also launched an offensive against Islamic State positions in the north, security officials said. The officials said there were thousands of Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga, participating in the battle that is focused on the Iraqi border town of Rabea. Turkey a NATO member, has long maintained a hands-off approach to the Islamist militants and has not joined a U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the group in Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has controlled Rabea — and other towns in the area — since Aug. 1 when it began its stunning campaign across northern Iraq. But Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reported that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would hold a cabinet meeting to discuss potential military options in Iraq and Syria. Possible cross-border operations by Turkey’s powerful and well-equipped military would mark a significant change in the international confrontation with the Islamic State.
Kurdish parliament member, Majid al-Sinjari, said that Islamic State militants had laid hundreds of improvised explosive devices that were slowing the offensive’s progress. Kurdish troops in Iraq, meanwhile, also launched an offensive against Islamic State positions in the north, security officials said. The officials said thousands of Kurdish fighters, known as pesh merga, were participating in the battle, which is focused on the Iraqi border town of Rabea.
Mahmoud Hajji, a security advisor to the Kurdish ministry of interior, Kurdish forces, described Rabea as a key logistics hub for the Islamic State. The Islamic State has controlled Rabea — and other towns in the area west of the city of Mosul — since Aug. 1, when it began its stunning campaign across northern Iraq.
Collard reported from Beirut. Mustafa Salim in Baghdad contributed to this report. A Kurdish parliament member, Majid al-Sinjari, said Islamic State militants planted hundreds of improvised explosive devices that were slowing the offensive’s progress.
But he also said pesh merga forces hoped to advance on the jihadist-controlled town of Sinjar in the next two days. Sinjar was previously home to tens of thousands of Yazidis, an ethnic-religious minority that the Islamic State has deemed devil worshipers. In August, the militants surrounded thousands of fleeing Yazidis who had taken shelter on nearby Mount Sinjar. The humanitarian crisis, in which Yazidis were dying of hunger and thirst, prompted the U.S. military to intervene.
Mahmoud Hajji, a security adviser to the Kurdish Interior Ministry, described Rabea and Sinjar as key logistics hubs for the Islamic State.
“We expect massive clashes [with the Islamic State] in Sinjar,” Hajji said.
Iran, which has provided weapons to the pesh merga, also said Tuesday that it would provide military assistance to Lebanon’s military. On a visit to Beirut, Ali Shamkhani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, pledged to support the Lebanese armed forces as the Syrian civil war threatens the fragile state.
In August, militants from Syria crossed into Lebanon and captured 20 Lebanese soldiers, highlighting the army’s difficulty securing its own borders.
Iran already gives arms to Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia, which has members fighting on the side of President Bashar Al-Assad in Syria.
Details of the deal are to be released after Lebanese Defense Minister Samir Moqbel visits Tehran.
Collard reported from Beirut. Mustafa Salim in Baghdad and Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.