Turkey Starts Military Operation in Syria to Push IS Group Back from Border

Turkish tanks and members of the Free Syrian Army pass the Syrian border as part of operation against ISIS in Syria, in Karkamis district of Gaziantep, Turkey, 24 August 2016. Photo EPA/BGNES

Turkish tanks and warplanes backed by aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition launched their first co-ordinated offensive into Syria to try to push the Islamic State (IS) group away from the border and prevent further gains by Kurdish militias, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Turkish tank units and Syrian rebels backed by Ankara crossed into northern Syria to drive the jihadist militants out of the border town of Jarablus, the newswire said citing military sources.

Turkey’s operation Operation Euphrates Shield around Jarabulus is a response to the threat posed by terror groups like Islamic State and the Kurdish PYD party, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in a speech in Ankara on Wednesday, according to Anadolu Agency.

Ankara, which regards the PYD as an extension of Kurdish militants waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey, has been alarmed by the group’s recent gains in northern Syria.

“Right now, unfortunately, all the attacks which happened in Gaziantep and Kilis... brought this issue to this point,” the Turkish news agency quoted Erdogan as saying.

Turkey had vowed on Monday to "completely cleanse" Islamic State militants from its border region after the Gaziantep suicide bombing.

Earlier this week, Turkey ordered residents of the town of Karkamis to leave it following a mortar shelling by Islamic State militants in Syria. Karkamis lies just across the border from Jarablus.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has condemned Wednesday's operation, describing it as blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty, SANA news agency reported.

 

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