Children struggle to cope with Syria's war 03:04
Monday, 5 September 2016
Turkey says ISIS cleared from Turkish-Syrian border
Turkey is claiming success in its campaign to eradicate ISIS from its border regions.
The
terror group has reportedly lost control of the last strip of its
territory along the Syrian-Turkish border, according to sources and
Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu.
"The Turkish border with Syria was cleared Sunday of Daesh terrorists," Anadolu reported.
"The
Jarablus-Azaz line is totally under the control of FSA (Free Syrian
Army) backed by coalition forces," a Turkish armed forces member told
CNN Sunday.
The border town of Jarablus, which Syrian rebels and Turkish forces recently recaptured from the terror group, is a critical location for supplies, money and fighters coming in and out of ISIS-held areas.
Azaz is another key border city that was formerly held by ISIS.
The developments would be a major setback for ISIS, choking off supply lines for the terror group.
The
UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday that the
terror group has effectively lost its contact with the outside world,
after losing the remaining border villages between the Sajur River in
the southern suburbs of Jarablus and Al-Rai.
Turkey's campaign south of border
These
Turkish incursions mark a new phase in Operation Euphrates Shield, a
campaign launched last month to improve security and clear the Sunni
terror group from the border region.
Turkey was pressed into action against ISIS
by the surge of suicide attacks in Turkey, as well as the terror
group's use of safe houses and "informal" financial services on Turkish
soil.
On Saturday, Turkey sent
tanks and armored vehicles into the Syrian border town of Al-Rai,
effectively opening a new front in its campaign against ISIS, Turkish
state media reported. Al-Rai is about 55 kilometers west of Jarablus.
On
Sunday, a dozen other villages near the Turkish border were captured by
the Free Syrian Army backed by Turkish military, a Turkish armed forces
member told CNN.
The Turkish military said at least 300 ISIS targets have been hit since Operation Euphrates Shield began on August 24.
Syrian city liberated from ISIS 02:41
Turkey and Kurdish militias
Turkey's
government has signaled that its offensive will not only target ISIS
but also the Syrian Kurdish YPG, who are viewed as an equal threat.
The
question of the Kurdish militias has complicated cooperation between
Turkey and the United States, NATO allies and partners in their fight
against ISIS in Syria.
Turkey is
opposed to Washington's support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, one
of the most effective forces on the ground in the fight against ISIS,
viewing them as indistinct from outlawed Kurdish militants fighting a
long insurgency in southeast Turkey.
Turkish forces strike ISIS targets in Syria 05:25
Turkish authorities are also building a wall to boost security along a stretch of its border with Syria, Anadolu reported.
The wall is being erected from Karkamis, a Turkish town across the
border from Jarablus, to Suruc, which lies across from the Syrian town
of Kobane.
US forces used a new
weapon -- the high mobility artillery rocket system, or HIMARS --
against an ISIS target in northern Syria Saturday night, a coalition
official confirmed to CNN. The system -- designed to reduce potential
collateral damage as it impacts at a high angle and has a relatively
small blast radius -- was fired out of southern Turkey, a US official
said.
US, Russia talks end unresolved
High-level
talks between the US and Russia aimed at ending violence in the
war-torn country ended without an agreement, a US official said Monday.
The
talks, between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian
counterpart Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in
Hangzhou, China, failed to resolve differences and left the Syrian
question unanswered, the official said.
Kerry
and Lavrov were working to negotiate a plan that would have boosted
military cooperation between the two nations in an effort to better
target terrorists and prevent civilian deaths, but negotiations have
ended for now.
"There are still issues to resolve," the US official said.
On
Sunday, cautious optimism had prevailed that a deal could be struck
between Washington and Moscow, long at odds over policy in Syria. Kerry
and Lavrov had been working "around the clock" to come to an agreement,
US President Barack Obama told reporters.
Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
to target US-backed opposition fighters that Moscow and Damascus claim
are terrorists. The campaign has spurred a humanitarian crisis and
caused millions of Syrians to flee for Europe.
The
US had hoped to align with Russia to identify terrorist targets,
including ISIS and the Nusra Front, a group formerly tied to al-Qaeda.
Officials hope a ceasefire will help advance talks on a political
transition that would lead to the resignation of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
The
crisis has been a vexing topic of discussion at the G20 meeting of
world leaders in Hangzhou, China, where the United States and Russia, at
odds on the question of support for the Syrian regime, continue to work
to strike a deal on resolving the conflict.
On
Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that he and
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would continue work on a deal,
but that "a couple of tough issues" persisted.
ISIS says senior leader killed; vows revenge 02:01
Previous
diplomatic efforts have resulted in warring parties agreeing to a
"cessation of hostilities," a brief pause in the fighting allowing for
humanitarian aid to be delivered to suffering civilian populations. But
talks have so far failed to yield a more lasting ceasefire.
Obama
said after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday
that the two leaders had discussed a peaceful transition of power in
Syria. Both the United States and Turkey are in favor of regime change
in the war-torn country.
