On August 24, Turkey deployed tanks and air power to support the rebels, who swept into the border town of Jarablus. The sources were speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.The news comes 12 days after the Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield, aimed at improving border security, supporting coalition forces, and eliminating the threat posed by terrorist organizations, especially Daesh. Notably, none of the attacks went after territory seized by Turkey and its allies, which over the weekend took materially ISIS’ entire border region between Syria and Turkey.
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The prime minister added the 91 kilometer borderline from Azaz to Jarablus with Syria is now free from the control of Islamic State militants and this also cuts the supply line for them through which imports of fighters and weapons were done.
Since then, militants have reportedly been seizing villages along the Turkish border near Jarablus and the western Cobanbey district from Daesh.
“This is an important step forward in the fight against ISIL”, a USA official said, using Washington’s acronym for Islamic State.
Dubbed Euphrates Shield, Turkey’s operation, which involves tanks, fighter jets and special forces, is targeting both ISIL but also Syrian Kurdish forces that have been key to driving ISIL fighters out of other parts of the Syrian-Turkish border.
The push came a month after insurgents captured several military academies south of Aleppo and opened a corridor into rebel-held parts of Syria’s largest city and onetime commercial center.
A key regime ally, Moscow began an aerial campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s government last September, even as it continued to publicly support efforts for a negotiated solution to the five-year war. SANA said the attack killed one person, while the opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed.
The government in Turkey says Islamic State militants have been driven out from their last position along the country’s border with Syria.
That puts Turkey in firm control of a stretch of land it sees as a bulwark against the USA -backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China US-Russia talks to broker a ceasefire in Syria have hit a snag, but the US Secretary of State hopes they can get back on track.
“We’re not there yet”, Obama told reporters Sunday.
Kerry spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday but emerged from meetings without a deal.
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Indeed, with Isis nearly pushed back from the border, Turkey appears already to have turned its full attention to the US-backed YPG.
