The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turkey plunges deeper into Syria
Syrian rebels take Islamic State’s last big border town.
ISTANBUL — Turkey sent tanks, warplanes and special operations forces into northern Syria on Wednesday in its biggest plunge yet into the Syrian conflict, enabling Syrian rebels to capture an important Islamic State stronghold within hours.
The operation, assisted by U.S. warplanes, is a significant escalation of Turkey’s role in the fight against the Islamic State, the militant extremist group ensconced in parts of Syria and Iraq that has increasingly been targeting Turkey.
By evening, Syrian rebel fighters declared that they had taken control of the town of Jarabulus and its surroundings, which had been the militant group’s last major redoubt near the Turkish border. Turkish officials said one rebel fighter was killed but no Turkish troops died.
Fighters posted photographs and videos of themselves online with the green, black and white flag adopted by the Syrian opposition as they walked through what appeared to be empty streets, passing buildings still flying the flag of the Islamic State.
At the White House, President Barack Obama’s chief spokesman, Josh Earnest, called the Turkish assault “an indication of important progress” in the campaign against the Islamic State.
Earlier, Vice President Joe Biden signaled support for the goals of the operation: clearing Islamic State militants from their remaining border stronghold and rolling back recent advances by Syrian Kurdish militias, which Turkey considers its primary enemy.
Biden had traveled to the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Wednesday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time of high tensions between the two countries after the failed coup in Turkey last month. But the timing of the joint offensive and Biden’s words of support seemed to show an easing of the strains.
At a news conference, Biden said the Kurdish militias, an important U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State, would have to meet a Turkish demand by withdrawing to the eastern side of the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria.
Turkish officials were adamant that they would continue operations in Syria until they had neutralized what they see as threats against national security, which includes Kurdish control of the region west of the Euphrates. Turkey has signaled in recent days that it is prepared to take a more aggressive diplomatic role in Syria, working alongside Iran, Russia and the United States to seek an end to the war.