Turkey preparing military action in northern Syria (MAP)
Turkey is carrying out an effective, large-scale military operation against ” terrorist groups ” in northern Syria , Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“We have completed our plans and preparations to eliminate the ‘extremists’ east of Euphrates, and we are heading there to eradicate terrorism with new, more effective and large-scale operations”, Erdogan told AKP PMs today.
On Sunday, the Turkish military bombed positions for the Kurdish forces east of Euphrates, killing one militant.
Recently, Ankara announced intention to cleanse the areas located east of Euphrates from what it described as ‘terrorists’, following what had been achieved in operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch.
Meanwhile, Hakki Kobani, a military commander in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that by bombing the Kurdish forces, Turkey is helping the Islamic State, adding that Ankara aims at reviving the terror group [ISIS] to carry out more attacks.
Kobani warned that the Kurdish forces will fight back any Turkish aggression.
The US-backed, predominantly-Kurdish forces control the areas located east of the Euphrates River.
On the other hand, the Turkish-backed groups are mainly deployed in Jarabulus and al-Bab cities, just adjacent to the SDF-run areas as shown in the map below.
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