“We have always said that if we do not support local forces on the ground, if there is no land operation, it will not be possible to eliminate or even stop Daesh exclusively from the air”, he said. He says a field hospital will become operational very soon.
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The extremist militia struck two Turkish tanks with missiles near the Syrian border town of al-Rai, Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported.
Turkey launched its first major military campaign into Syria just over two weeks ago.
Turkish forces and the Ankara-backed rebels are pressing on with the operation inside Syria, which is also targeting a Kurdish militia Ankara regards as a terror group.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s strongest ally in the civil war, Russia, said they were “deeply concerned” by the Turkish advance. Any Turkish role would have to be determined in further talks, he said.
A US official said that while the leaders agreed to remain focused on Islamic State, there was no specific discussion of a joint operation to seize Raqqa.
Mr Erdogan gave few other details but said more discussions would follow.
Mithat Sancar suggested that the United States and Turkey could have reached an informal agreement that while the Turkish military remains in areas close to Jarablus and does not move deeper into the Syrian territory, there will be no direct confrontation with other forces, including the Kurds.
Turkey’s efforts to set up a safe zone in Syria will continue until the Turkish border is safe and threats against the country have been removed, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Friday.
Loaded with luggage and possessions, hundreds of civilians began returning to Jarabulus on Wednesday, forming long queues at the border gate outside the Turkish town of Karkamis, an AFP photographer said.
U.S. President Barack Obama floated the idea of joint action with Turkey to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks published on Wednesday. It is not possible to independently verify the figures.
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Insurgents led by an ultraconservative Islamic group last week advanced northward in Hama province, prompting fierce fighting with government forces.
