Turkey, Ankara-backed rebels launch op to retake Syrian town from ISIS
Published time: 24 Aug, 2016 03:39
Edited time: 24 Aug, 2016 04:05
Ankara has begun a military operation with the aim of retaking the Syrian town of Jarablus from the hands of the Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL), state-run press agency Anadolu Agency reported. The Turkish army is reportedly backing Islamist rebels fighting IS.
Turkish military employed intense artillery fire against Islamic State fighters in Jarabulus, officials told the Turkish media.
The troops managed to get close to the town quickly, with reports saying that the troops are just 5 kilometers away.
The operation is receiving air support. The Turkish air force has hit IS targets in northern Syria, according to Anadolu.
“Operation in Jarabulus aims to prevent new flows of migration, deliver aid to civilians, clear area of terrorist elements,” the news agency tweeted.
The military advance began at around 4 a.m. local time.
The decision to move in on Jarabulus is said to have come after a number of mortar bombs hit a residential Turkish area near the Syrian border on Tuesday morning.
But other reports have pointed to the fact that it comes at a time when a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters is also making a push toward the border town.
The Kurdish-led force has taken full control of nearby Manbij by driving IS militants out of the city, which was used by terrorists to smuggle weapons and goods.
Ankara has been concerned over the autonomy of Kurds in Syria as Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of the Democratic Union Party of Syria (PYD), with the help of American-led airstrikes, continue to capture vast swathes of territory in northern Syria, which borders Kurdish-dominated southeast Turkey, where Ankara has engaged the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a brutal military campaign for over a year.
Turkey has repeatedly stressed that it would not tolerate Kurds staying west of the Euphrates River, with YPG-PYD advances in northern Syria remaining the key security issue for Ankara. The Turkish government has labeled both groups as terrorist organizations, despite their fierce efforts in fighting Islamic State.
without following the development much, I think the sides got/lost that hill not just once during recent days; now the Government holds it, is under the attack ... according to what I read moments ago from both pro- and non-Government Twitter accountsclaimed it had been retaken yesterday (picture, not a video, from a drone available, so I won't post ... it wouldn't be problem for pro-Government sources to show they're on the hill, right?):
