Turkey: Turkey begins offensive to free Syria’s Jarabulus town from Islamic State (IS)
Turkish special forces backed by coalition air support launched an incursion into Syria in the early hours on Wednesday to take the town of Jarabulus from the Islamic State (IS) group, Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu reported.
Turkish tanks crossed the border into Syria in what officials are calling operation “Euphrates Shield”, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stating on Wednesday that his forces would be targeting “terrorist groups like Daesh (IS) and PYD,” referring to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party, whose military wing the People’s Protection Units (YPG) continue to make military gains in northern Syria.
“Attacks on our country from Syria brought things to this point,” explained the President, adding that “no one will threaten our being.”
“They thinks every attack on us weakens us. They are mistaken. They make us stronger.”