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Turkey says it could seize IS stronghold with US
Posted On May 31 2016
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Civilians fleeing an Islamic State offensive in northwestern Syria have been prevented by Syrian Kurdish authorities from entering areas under their control in response to rebel shelling of a Kurdish-held area of Aleppo, the United Nations said.
Turkey’s military killed at least 28 Islamic State fighters in shelling north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday in retaliation for the latest attacks against a Turkish border town, broadcaster CNN Turk said, citing a military statement. Rebel groups battling ISIS in the area, which Washington sees as strategically vital, have been supplied with weapons via Turkey.
Ankara regards the alliance’s most powerful component – the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) – as a branch of the rebel Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish army.
Cavusoglu said U.S. support for YPG was “very dangerous” for the future of Syria.
-Turkish relations. According to Vatan newspaper’s Monday edition, Cavusoglu criticized the US for dealing with the political wing of the YPG and said it would be better off uniting forces with Turkey.
Capt. Davis declined to comment specifically on what kind of role American forces would take in a joint mission with Turkey in northern Syria, or when Pentagon officials planned to respond to Ankara’s offer.
It has deployed more than 200 special forces personnel to work alongside it.
US special operations advisers were photographed sporting YPG insignia while conducting operations alongside the unit north of Raqqa.
The wearing of the Kurdish patches “was unauthorized and inappropriate and authoritative action has been taken”, Col. Steve Warren, the top US military spokesman for anti-Islamic State operations in the region, said Friday.
“We are ready but instead of implementing the agreement, (U.S. soldiers) are going and wearing the patches of the YPG”, he said. Turkish officials have underscored the need for more help from Western allies in defending the border.
