Turks to join US forces in joint patrols

Turkey will conduct joint patrols with US forces in the strategic Syrian town of Manbij, once a stronghold of the Islamic State group, a Turkish official said yesterday. The announcement came as Turkey’s Defence Ministry said the borders of Idlib’s demilitarised zone were determined in a meeting with their Russian counterparts during a three-day meeting.

This week’s agreement between Russia and Turkey to set up a demilitarized zone around Syria’s northwestern Idlib province to separate government forces from rebels averted a government offensive.