Three Turkish soldiers killed in Isis attack in Syria

Turkey’s military said late on Tuesday that three Turkish soldiers were killed when two tanks were hit by rockets fired by Islamic State.

Jarablus, which had been held by DAESH for a long time, was the first town captured by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters in the offensive launched on August 24.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Ankara is open to the idea of conducting a joint military operation with the USA to free the Islamic State group’s stronghold of Raqqa.

On Sunday, Turkish forces, supported by pro-Ankara rebels, pushed IS back from the last section of the worldwide border which it controlled.

Turkish forces have also targeted Kurdish fighters in the same region.

Washington says Turkish attacks on Kurdish-aligned militias damage a US-backed coalition that is fighting IS.

Russian Federation on Wednesday expressed serious concern about the advance of Turkish troops and Ankara-backed opposition militias inside Syria.

“Obama wants to do some things together concerning Raqqa in particular, ” he was quoted by the Hurriyet newspaper as saying.

“A no-fly zone would necessarily only be contained to one specific area, and we have problems and violence across the country”, he added.

“I said “our soldiers should come together and discuss, then what is necessary will be done”, Mr Erdogan added.

In addition, Turkish authorities arrested 24 suspects who were allegedly preparing to launch attacks, he said. Further, Turkey contends that 75-year-old Fethullah Gulen, living in self-imposed exile since 1999 in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania, orchestrated the coup, and had put pressure on the USA to send Gulen back to Turkey.

“What can be done on the issue is related to the United States stance”.

Metin Gurcan, a former major in the Turkish military and an analyst for the Al Monitor online journal, said Washington and Moscow’s divergent agendas in Syria raised serious questions about the viability of the Turkish plans.

Thus, Turkish border with Syria was cleared of Daesh terrorists.

Syrian rebels backed by Turkey say they have recaptured a number of villages from IS since the Turkish operation – code-named Euphrates Shield – began.