US, Turkey to Launch 'Comprehensive' Military Operation against ISIL/ISIS

Turkey and the United States will launch a joint air operation to remove Islamic State militants from an area along the Syria-Turkey border, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters on Monday.

"The technical talks have been concluded, [Sunday], and soon we will start this operation, comprehensive operations, against Daesh (Islamic State)," he said in an interview.

Regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, as well as Britain and France, may also take part, Cavusoglu added.

The operation calls for Washington and Ankara to provide air cover for so-called moderate Syrian rebels, who aim to flush Islamic State from a rectangle of border territory roughly 50 miles long, officials familiar with the plans told Reuters.

Cutting Islamic State's access to the Turkish border, across which it has been able to bring foreign fighters and supplies, could turn the tide in the battle against the militant group, diplomats say.

Cavusoglu said the operations would also help put pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his administration to come to the negotiating table and seek a political solution for Syria's wider war, Reuters reported.

Ankara asserts that lasting peace in Syria can only be achieved with Assad's departure.

"Our aim should be eradicating Daesh from both Syria and Iraq, otherwise you cannot bring stability and security…. But eliminating the root causes of the situation (in Syria) is also essential, which is the regime of course," Cavusoglu said.

US officials, meanwhile, have made it clear that the focus of the coalition operations will be squarely on pushing back Islamic State, Reuters reported.
  (Sputnik) 
  24/8/15 
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