Three Turkish soldiers have been killed and one wounded during clashes with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in northern Syria, according to Turkey’s armed forces.
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In a statement posted on the jihadist accounts, IS claimed the tank attack.
Erdoğan reassured that Jarablus has been fully cleared of the presence of DAESH and that the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army will continue to fight the group in the surrounding region.
The Kurds have accused Ankara of using the US-led coalition against IS as a cover to attack the YPG in northern Syria. “Turkey shamelessly and openly backs IS and al-Qaeda terrorists against Kurdish freedom fighters”, Sadi Pria, a top Iraqi Kurdish official has been quoted as saying.
The latest fatalities come as Turkey is considering an ambitious plan to capture from the jihadists the Syrian town of Raqa, the de facto capital of IS, an operation that would be on a different scale from Jarabulus.
Erdogan said he had agreed with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in China to do “what is necessary” to drive IS out of Raqa.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart on Thursday that Turkish forces would nonetheless continue “north to south”. Amidst the ongoing multifaceted crisis in Syria, it is important for Turkey, the YPG and the US-led coalition to drop their individual interests and work to defeat the common enemy, the Islamic State.
“Our wish is our Syrian brothers’ safe return to their own country after it is cleansed of IS and the formation of locations where they can live comfortably and feel safe”, he said at an opening ceremony in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli province.
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He vowed to press ahead with the military offensive against “not only Daesh (IS) but also other terror groups like PYD and YPG” until this goal is achieved. It is also about limiting the gains of the YPG, which Turkey considers to be an arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and expanding Turkey’s influence in Syria.
