On Sunday, intense aerial and artillery attacks helped government forces and their allies drive insurgents out of the Ramousah military complex in Aleppo, according to rebels and a monitoring group.
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The areas in which Turkey and the rebels it backed are operating have been cleared of nonarmed personnel, he said, amid claims that Kurdish civilians have been killed.
Turkey’s state-run news agency says Turkish tanks have entered Syria’s Cobanbey district northeast of Aleppo in a “new phase” of the Euphrates Shield operation.
The Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army units have also been fighting USA -backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
But Ankara considers the YPG a “terrorist” group and has been alarmed by its expansion along the border.
In Hangzhou, China, meanwhile, President Barack Obama said the USA and Russian Federation have not given up on negotiations to halt the bloodshed in Syria, but acknowledged that “gaps of trust” exist between the rival powers.
“There are a couple of tough issues that we talked about today that we will go back and review, I will go back and review, and we’ve agreed to meet tomorrow morning and see whether or not it is possible to bridge the gap, come to conclusion on those couple of issues”, Kerry said.
But the group still holds territory in Syria and Iraq. The Observatory said three people were killed.
Then, on Saturday, Turkey and its rebel allies opened a new line of attack in northern Syria, rolling across the border at Al-Rai -some 34 miles west of Jarablus – closing in on ISIS and securing the stretch between the towns in just two days.
Also, hundreds of rebels from the Turkey-backed Sultan Murad Brigade and other Turkmen rebel factions accompanied the Turkish army in the advance towards Aleppo.
The development leaves about 250,000 people living in rebel-controlled parts of the city cut off from the outside world once again, and will raise new fears about a humanitarian crisis in Aleppo. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the 5-year-old Syria civil war. Government forces withdrew in August after street battles with Kurdish forces, which took control of the city, though the state’s police force remained in place.
A Turkish tank heads to the Syrian border.
The siege prompted global concern, with aid agencies urging 48-hour ceasefires to ensure humanitarian access.
The Euphrates Shield operation started on August 24 in the northern Syrian city of Jarablus and was backed by a US-led worldwide coalition.
The three killed by IS were not Turkey’s first casualties following the launch of the incursion, though they were the first fatalities at the hands of the militant group since the operation began.
Earlier Sunday, hopes were raised that Moscow and Washington might be on the verge of announcing a deal to halt the bloodshed.
Meanwhile, Turkish war planes destroyed two IS targets in Wuguf in southern al-Rai between 10:00 GMT and 10:24 GMT, the Chief of Staff said, quoted by NTV television.
In return, the United States would coordinate with Russian Federation in fighting against al Qaeda, it said, without elaborating.
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He made the remarks at the meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama during the G20 summit in China, the Hurriyet newspaper reported citing a diplomatic source. “I’ve said all along we’re not going to rush and we’re not going to do something that we think is less than what we believe is a legitimate opportunity to be able to try to get the job done”.
