The capture of the town of Manbij last month from IS heightened Turkey’s fears. He said the shelling was hitting Islamic State, not Kurdish forces.
Advertisement
“That’s what the United States promised”.
The news agency said the operation aims to clear Turkey’s border of “terror organizations” and increase border security, as well as “prioritize and support” Syria’s territorial integrity.
Syria’s government has denounced Turkish military incursion, describing it as Turkey’s “blatant violation” of Syrian sovereignty.
The statement added that Turkish tanks and armored personnel carriers crossed into Syria earlier in the morning, under the cover of USA -led coalition airstrikes.
The ministry said Turkish tanks and armored vehicles crossed the Turkish-Syrian borders on Wednesday morning under the air cover of a US-led coalition toward the Syrian city of Jarablus. NTV called it an “intruder mission” meant for “pinpoint operations” against IS in Jarablus.
The Turkish operation – named “Euphrates Shield” – began early Wednesday with Turkish artillery pounding dozens of IS group targets around Jarabulus, according to the Turkish prime minister’s office.
As he spoke, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that pro-Ankara Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels had already penetrated three kilometers (two miles) inside Syria toward the IS-held town of Jarabulus.
CNN Turk aired footage of what it said were Syrian opposition fighters in the Jarablus town center, which appeared to be deserted.
The US-led coalition has welcomed the operation which significantly contributed to ongoing efforts of the US-backed worldwide coalition against the terror group.
Fighters from the powerful and ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham brigade are also present, he said and confirmed Anadolu’s report that the rebels seized the IS-held village of Kaklijeh near Jarablus.
There was no immediate word on any fatalities in Wednesday’s operation.
Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Ankara for talks with Turkish leaders as Turkey launched a military operation to clear a Syrian border town of Islamic State militants.
Meanwhile, Vice President Biden is visiting Turkey, in what is the highest-level US trip to the country since a failed coup attempt last month.
Turkey had declared the border area a “special security zone”, and asked journalists not to try access it, citing safety concerns and threats posed by the IS.
Turkey has vowed to fight IS militants at home and to “cleanse” the group from its borders after a weekend suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in southern Turkey killed at least 54 people, many of them children.
USA advisers are communicating with the Turkish military about a plan to take the Syrian border town of Jarabulus, a key IS stronghold that is a primary objective of the Turkish offensive, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Advertisement
In Syria, Turkey is concerned about the growing power of USA -backed Syrian Kurdish forces, who it says are linked to Kurdish groups waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey.
