Shelling began about 4am local time and United States jets flew missions as well as Turkish, military sources told Reuters.
Advertisement
“What we have said, since the beginning, is that having Jarablus or any other city held by IS is unacceptable”, he said.
It says: “Fighting terrorism can not be undertaken by ousting Daesh and replacing it with other terrorist organizations directly backed by Turkey”. He use the Arabic language acronym for ISIS.
The operation, called Euphrates Shield, is being supported by Turkish air forces, as well as warplanes from the US-led coalition.
Military sources told Reuters that Turkish tanks fired on Islamic State targets across the border in the Syrian town of Jarabulus. Turkey has long pressed Damascus to declare the Syrian Kurdish forces to be an extension of the PKK.
Syrian opposition fighters were also part of the cross-border incursion to oust the militants from Jarablus, which was reported by both Turkish state media and Syrian opposition activists.
Several suspects were detained and their addresses searched.
The offensive also “aims to support USA -led coalition forces” and strengthen Turkey’s border security, military sources told Anadolu.
Turkish special forces are already inside Syria as part of the operation to clear IS out of Jarablus. On Tuesday, it said that around 500 rebels were waiting to cross into Syria.
Abdel-Sattar al-Jader, a rebel commander aligned with the SDF, was killed late Monday shortly after broadcasting a statement proclaiming the formation of the “Jarablus Military Council” and pledging to protect civilians in the town from Turkish “aggression”.
The operation, which began at around 4 a.m. local time, is aimed at clearing the Turkish borders of terrorist groups, helping to enhance border security and supporting the territorial integrity of Syria, they said.
In its report, the Anadolu Agency, which cited unnamed military officals, did not say how many tanks entered Syria. In addition, Turkish special forces and tanks crossed the border into Syria.
“Jarablus was expected to fall soon anyway and that the Kurds would move in to take it”, he said.
The Kurdish-led group known as the Syria Democratic Forces, or SDF, recaptured Manbij from the Islamic State group earlier this month, triggering concerns in Ankara that Kurdish forces would seize the entire border strip with Turkey.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is due in Turkey later on Wednesday, the most senior U.S. official to visit since a failed July 15 coup shook confidence in the ability of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member to step up the fight against Islamic State.
Biden is likely to face expressions of alarm from Turkey about the activities inside Syria of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Washington sees as an ally but Ankara regards as a terror group.
The launch of the operation comes as US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Ankara to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with agreeing a unified strategy on Syria set to be a crucial issue.
A Turkish soldier stands guard at the Turkish-Syrian border in Karkamis, bordering with the Islamic State-held Syrian town of Jarablus, in Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 1, 2015.
NTV television said it was an “intruder mission” to carry out “pinpoint operations” against IS as part of the operation to clear the town of Jarablus of the extremists.
It had earlier ordered residents in the Turkish town of Karkamis – just across the border from Jarablus – to evacuate after the town was hit by mortar fire believed to come from IS positions.
Turkish tank units earlier on Wednesday cross the border and entered into Syria as part of the operation, which is backed by jets and US -led coalition warplanes.
Reports say Turkish tanks have entered Syrian territory to conduct operations in Jarablus.
Advertisement
Turkey’s army and global coalition forces on Wednesday started an operation to drive Islamic State jihadists out of a key Syrian border town, a statement from the Turkish prime minister’s office said.
