According to the report, the Free Syrian Army, which is supported by Turkish Armed Forces, was recently attacked by the “Islamic State” (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh) militants.
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Turkey’s president denies claims by US officials that Syrian Kurdish rebels fighting Turkish forces in northern Syria have withdrawn east of the Euphrates River.
Turkey and Russia suffered a roughly seven-month rupture in relations after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber in November as tensions mounted over Syria, where Moscow and Ankara back opposite sides in the civil war.
Turkey’s military operation in Syria is a violation of that country’s sovereignty and the Turks should quickly complete their mission and get out, an Iranian official said on August 30. Germany said it did not want to see a lasting Turkish presence in an already tangled conflict.
Turkey says its offensive inside Syria, which began with the capture of Jarabulus, is aimed at ridding the border area not just of IS jihadists but also a Kurdish militia that Ankara regards as a terror group.
“Nobody can expect us to allow a terror corridor on our southern border”, President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference.
But Turkish strikes on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia (YPG) have anxious the United States, which regards the group as an ally in the fight against IS.
Since then, the Turkish army with its allies have pushed further south, seizing a string of villages in areas controlled by militias loyal to the Kurdish-backed SDF, which drove Islamic State out of the city of Manbij this month with USA help. The YPG denied they were there.
The United States has voiced concerns about Turkish strikes on Kurdish-aligned groups that Washington supports.
The Islamic State group’s Aamaq news agency says the “martyrdom” attack occurred in the village of Kuliyah, west of the Syrian border town of Jarablus.
Turkey has said Syria was informed in advance of the operation by Russian Federation.
The U.S. has provided extensive aid and airstrikes to the YPG-led Syria Democratic Forces, which have proven to be highly effective against IS.
“At the moment, they are saying the YPG has crossed (the Euphrates)”, Erdogan said. “I can tell you that the units that we work with to include the headquarters elements and their leadership and the people we have liaison with have abided by what they said they would do”, he said. “The proof depends on our own observation”.
The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the USA, but the YPG is allied with the latter against IS.
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The Kurdish-backed Jarablus Military Council said in a statement Tuesday it had agreed to a cease-fire following consultations with the USA -led coalition.
