Turkish forces push deeper into northeast Syria: ministry
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish commandos pushed deeper into Syrian territory east of the Euphrates river on the second day of a offensive against Kurdish militia, as a withdrawal by US forces opened up a dangerous new phase in the region’s eight-year-old conflict.
Ashamed of Washington’s role in making way for the Turkish incursion, senior members of US President Donald Trump’s own Republican Party condemned him for abandoning Syrian Kurds, who have been loyal allies of Washington in the fight against Islamic State in Syria (ISIS).
NATO-ally Turkey has said it intends to create a “safe zone” in order to return millions of refugees to Syria. But world powers fear the Turkish action could exacerbate the conflict, and run the risk of ISIS prisoners escaping from camps amid the chaos.
“Our heroic commandos taking part in Operation Peace Spring are continuing to advance east of the Euphrates,” the Defence Ministry wrote on Twitter on Thursday, posting a video showing soldiers firing rifles in darkness as they advanced.
A witness in the Turkish town of Akcakale said volleys of rockets were fired from there across the border into Syria’s Tel Abyad. Smoke rose from two targets hit on the Syrian side of the border, he said.
Turkish forces shelled targets near Ral al Ain on Thursday morning, and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters responded, another witness said.
The Turkish military has hit 181 targets of the Kurdish militia with its air force and artillery since the start of operation into northeast Syria, the ministry said.
One of the prisons where ISIS detainees are held was struck by a Turkish air strike, the SDF said on Twitter.
The U.S. military has taken custody of two high-profile Islamic State militants previously held in Syria by the SDF and moved them out of the country to a secure location, a US official said.
A second US official said they belonged to a group of British fighters nicknamed “The Beatles,” who have been tied to the murder of Western hostages.
Akcakale was quiet for much of the morning after sporadic gunfire and the sound of tank movement were heard in the early hours, Reuters journalists said. Explosions had rocked Tel Abyad earlier in the night, they said.
“Operation Peace Spring is continuing as planned across the border,” Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter. Turkey regards the Kurdish militia as a terrorist group because of its links to Kurdish PKK militants waging a decades-old insurgency in southeast Turkey.
Troops entered Syria at four points, two of them close to Tel Abyad and two close to Ras al Ain further east, according to Turkish media reports.
Air strikes killed at least five civilians and three SDF fighters, while dozens of civilians were wounded, the SDF said. Thousands of people fled Ras al Ain towards Hasaka province, held by the SDF.
SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said on Twitter that the group’s fighters had repelled a ground attack by Turkish troops in Tel Abyad.
