Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Ankara-backed Syria TerroristRebels: Jarablus ‘liberated’

In an operation backed by Turkish shelling, Syrian rebels said on Wednesday that Jarablus in northern Syria on the Turkish border has been “libeated” from ISIS militant group.


“Jarablus is completely liberated,” Ahmad Othman, commander of the Sultan Mourad rebel group, told AFP from the scene, while another rebel spokesman said ISIS fighters had fled towards Al-Bab, to the southwest.

Earlier, a rebel commander with the Failaq al-Sham group, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that most of ISIS fighters in Jarablus had pulled out, some of them surrendering. Another commander estimated up to 50 percent of the town was now under the control of the Turkish-backed rebels.

“Daesh (ISIS) fighters have withdrawn from several villages on the outskirts of Jarablus and are heading south towards the city of al Bab,” the Failaq al Sham commander said.

After a pre-dawn barrage of heavy artillery and airstrikes, Turkey sent tanks and special forces into Syria on Wednesday to help clear a border town of ISIS militants and prevent Kurdish rebels from making any gains, marking the NATO member’s most significant military involvement so far in the Syria conflict.

The operation -- named “Euphrates Shield” -- began around 4:00 am (0100 GMT) with Turkish artillery pounding dozens of ISIS targets around Jarablus, the Turkish prime minister’s office said.

Turkish tanks and special forces accompanied by pro-Ankara Syrian rebels then rolled across the border in an unprecedented operation to drive ISIS out of the town from which it has fired rockets into Turkey.

Hours after the start of the operation, Turkey’s state-run news agency and a Syrian opposition media activist said the rebels captured Kaklijeh - an ISIS-held village near Jarablus - with the support of Turkish armored units. The village is some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the Turkish border, the Anadolu Agency said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the military operation aims to prevent threats from “terror” groups, including ISIS and a US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia affiliated with Turkey’s outlawed Kurdish rebels...

  • Biden’s visit

Biden’s visit comes at a difficult time for ties between the two NATO allies - Turkey is demanding that Washington quickly extradite a US-based cleric blamed for orchestrating last month's failed coup while the United States is asking for evidence against the cleric and that Turkey allow the extradition process to take its course.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara on Wednesday, Biden attempted to make peace, saying he understood the “intense feeling” in Turkey over the cleric, and expressed his guilt for not coming to the country sooner after the coup.

The US vice president also indirectly expressed his support for the Turkish operation launched Wednesday to clear ISIS militants from the town of Jarablus and deter Kurds from further expanding in northern Syria.

He called on Syrian Kurdish forces to “move back across the Euphrates River,” warning that they could lose US support if they did not...
 [alarabiya.net]
24/8/16
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