Turkey takes IS fight into Syria

KARKAMIS: Turkish tanks and hundreds of opposition fighters thrust deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday in a lightning operation that within hours ousted Islamic State jihadists from a key Syrian border town.

The air and ground offensive -- the most ambitious launched by Ankara in the Syria conflict -made rapid progress towards Jarabulus with rebel fighters already proclaiming victory by the late afternoon just 14 hours after it started.

“Jarabulus is completely liberated,” Ahmad Othman, commander of the Sultan Mourad rebel group, told AFP from the scene, while another rebel spokesman said IS fighters had fled towards Al-Bab to the southwest.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasised the operation was also targeting Kurdish militia fighters strongly opposed by Ankara -but backed by the US as a key ally against IS -- who had also been closing in on Jarabulus.

But visiting US Vice President Joe Biden reassured Turkey that Washington had told the Kurdish fighters under no circumstances to cross west of the Euphrates River or face the total loss of American support.

The operation — named “Euphrates Shield” — began at around 4 am with Turkish artillery pounding dozens of IS targets around Jarabulus.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets, backed by US-led coalition war planes, also hit targets inside Syria.

A dozen Turkish tanks then rolled into Syria in support of Syrian opposition fighters who had also crossed, with 1,500 of them now in the area according to state media.

The rapidity of the advance was stunning and in complete contrast to the long-grinding battles where Kurdish forces had taken towns in northern Syria like Kobane and Manbij from IS.

As well as tanks, an AFP photographer in the area of Karkamis opposite Jarabulus saw several smaller military vehicles believed to be carrying the proAnkara Syrian rebels.