Turkish forces backed by Syrian rebels say they have driven Daesh militants out of territory along the Syrian border with Turkey.
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A spokesperson for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Independent the extremist group conceded control of its two final villages on the border, and retreated between 7 and 8 kilometres to the south.
The Observatory said “rebels and Islamist factions backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes” had taken several villages on the border “after IS withdrew from them, ending IS´s presence. on the border”.
The move marks a significant advance for Ankara’s operation, dubbed Euphrates Shield, which began on August 24.
While the United States and Europe also regard the PKK within Turkey as a terrorist group, Washington sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG as separate entity who can help them fight so-called Islamic State in Syria.
As well as IS, Turkey considers the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish group, to be a terrorist group.
The loss of its territory along the Turkish border follows a series of recent defeats for ISIS, including its expulsion from the central Iraqi city of Fallujah and its defeat in the former stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria. Aleppo has been a major battlefield in Syria since 2011, with fierce fighting between rebel groups and regime forces.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan raised concern about the formation of a “terror corridor” along Turkey’s Syrian border.
“Turkey’s fight against all terror organisations including Daesh and YPG will continue with determination”, he said, referring to the Islamic State and the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units.
“The Turkish forces and allies have taken over al-Rae town north of Aleppo, turning the town into a military zone after claiming to have expelled ISIS militants from the area”, rebel spokesman al-Zein told ARA News.
In a statement, Turkey’s armed forces said the “the Jarablus-Azaz line has been connected”.
Turkey intervened militarily in Syria’s war less than two weeks ago by launching Operation Euphrates Shield.
He made the remarks at the meeting with the US President Barack Obama during the G20 summit in China, the Hurriyet newspaper reported citing a diplomatic source.
Above all, the border had served as the main conduit for the foreign fighters who have swarmed to participate in the militants’ ambitious experiment in Islamic governance, formalised in 2014 into what the group’s leadership termed a caliphate.
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Now there are 250,000 civilians living in the areas of Aleppo controlled by terror group ISIS. The Turkey-backed forces are now advancing toward each other from both towns, hoping to close off the last stretch of the Syrian border ruled by the extremists. “We are there to protect our borders, ensure the safety of our citizens’ lives and property, and to protect the territorial integrity of Syria, ” Yildirim said in Diyarbakir.
