Expert on Turkish studies Anush Hovhannisyan says today Turkey has started its own game in Syria.
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Wounded people were taken to hospitals in Turkey’s southern province of Gaziantep, which lies across the border from Jarablus, same hospital sources said.
Speaking to Reuters after a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter in London, Isik said YPG fighters should not be at the heart of any bid to seize Raqqa.
Hundreds of civilians have begun returning to the border town of Jarabulus in northern Syria, two weeks after pro-Ankara fighters recaptured it from Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
Erdogan said any Turkish role would have to be worked out separately.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in China, Turkish President Erdogan told the press it “would not be a problem” to join the United States in its campaign to eradicate Islamic State terrorists firmly established in Raqqa, their Syrian stronghold.
“What is important is that these plans can be implemented”, he said, adding that they required the support of all parties in the Syrian conflict.
When the Turkish military recently took the town of Jarablus, ISIS forces withdrew without resistance, clearing the way for a clash between Turkish and Kurdish forces.
Despite Washington having not confirmed the alliance, Turkey, the latest big military player in embattled Syria, will be pleased that the U.S. have acknowledged their strategic interest in Syria.
But Ankara has made a concerted effort to push back against the fanatical regime and Turkey and its rebel allies now control a 60-mile stretch of land on the Syrian side of the border.
But Turkey on Tuesday sustained its biggest loss of life in the operation to date, with three soldiers killed in an IS rocket attack on their tanks. In March it lost Palmyra to Syrian government troops, and last month it lost Manbij in northern Syria to the US-backed Syrian Kurds after another long siege. Canikli told a news conference on Wednesday that the YPG had not yet completely pulled back east.
US President Barack Obama said “gaps of trust” continue to prevent the US and Russian Federation from reaching a ceasefire agreement on Syria, following a meeting between the two sides at the G20 summit in China. The Kurdish forces have been employed as the Pentagon’s main proxy forces in terms of ground operations against ISIS, receiving weapons, funding, training and support from United States special operations units on the ground in Syria.
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US officials have welcomed Turkish efforts to dislodge Islamic State but voiced concern when Turkish troops engaged fighters aligned with the Kurdish YPG militia, a force Washington sees as a valuable ally in battling jihadists.
