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Turkey boosts troop levels on Syrian border amid Islamic State siege Turkey moves closer to intervention in Syria, Iraq
(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’s government edged closer Tuesday to direct intervention in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, bolstering security along its frontier with Syria and asking parliament to authorize a deployment of Turkish troops to the two war-ravaged countries.
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. Turkey on Tuesday dispatched hundreds of soldiers and tanks to the Syrian border to contain potential violent spillover from an Islamic State siege on the Syrian border town of Kobane.
The Turkish troops join other forces, including paramilitary units, along the border. Its cabinet also sent a motion to parliament that would allow Turkish troops to enter Iraqi and Syrian territory to combat extremists, Turkish media reported. The authorization could also open up Turkish military bases to foreign forces, the deputy prime minister told reporters in Ankara.
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. 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, a radical Islamist militant group also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Turkey, a NATO member, has been accused of aiding Islamist militants and has not yet joined a U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the group in Syria and Iraq. Many of the foreign fighters that have joined the Islamic State or other rebel groups in Syria have entered through Turkish territory.
But the Islamic State offensive on Kobane has caused more than 160,000 refugees to flee into Turkey in the past week, and shells from the fighting have also landed in Turkish territory.
Recent U.S. airstrikes have sought to drive Islamic State fighters away from Kobane, which is protected by Syrian Kurdish forces and some Kurdish fighters from Turkey.
Clashes nevertheless persisted outside the strategic town. Kobane’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.
“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.”“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.”
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. U.S. warplanes hit an Islamic State position on the Turkish-Syrian border, according to a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. military’s Central Command. An additional 10 strikes were carried out in both Iraq and Syria on Monday and Tuesday, the statement said.
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. Kurdish troops in Iraq, meanwhile, also launched an offensive to retake towns held by the Islamic State 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.
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. In August, the Islamic State began a stunning campaign across northern Iraq from the city of Mosul, which it has controlled since June. Its fighters routed Kurdish forces from a number of areas, reaching within striking distance of the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil, before U.S. warplanes intervened to push the militants back.
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. Since then, pesh merga fighters have held onto those gains, backed by the threat of U.S. airstrikes. But Rabea and other towns in the area west of Mosul have remained under Islamic State control since August.
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. A Kurdish parliament member, Majid al-Sinjari, said Islamic State militants planted hundreds of improvised explosive devices that were slowing the offensive’s progress. He said the pesh merga has suffered casualties.
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.
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. 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.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.“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.Collard reported from Beirut. Mustafa Salim in Baghdad and Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.