The attack came from Syrian territory held by the Islamic State.
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The operation gradually expanded and another front was launched near the town of Al-Rai (Known as Cobanbey in Turkish.) The plan is to create a safe zone along Turkey’s southern border, which will involve liberating the town of Al-Bab from IS-using Free Syrian Army rebels. The IS, YPG and PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria. USA commanders allegedly see Syrian Kurds as the best ground partner in the battle against ISIS, and arming them directly would assist in a coming assault on Raqqa, ISIS’s stronghold.
“We don’t necessarily control the timeline ourselves”, Votel told a security conference here sponsored by the Institute for the Study of War.
The second rocket hit Mercidabık Elementary School, injuring a woman and a child, who were taken to a nearby hospital by an ambulance. About 350 resupply deliveries have been made by air or by land to the Syrian Arab militias, according to the US military command in Iraq.
The strike comes one month into an unprecedented incursion into Syria by Turkish forces aimed at rooting IS jihadists out of the border area.
Turkish news outlets reported this month that Erdogan had suggested that his country was prepared to conduct a joint operation with the United States to defeat the Islamic State in Raqqa. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops.
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He added that IS was behind the attack and that Turkey’s military would provide the necessary response.
