Turkish military enters Syria to evacuate troops
ANKARA, Turkey — Hundreds of Turkish troops backed by tanks took part in an overnight operation venturing into neighbouring Syria to evacuate dozens of besieged soldiers guarding an Ottoman tomb and remove the remains amid fears that the shrine was threatened by Islamic State militants.
The mission late Saturday, saving Turkish soldiers reportedly stuck for months at the tomb of the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, was the first such major military incursion by Turkey since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that nearly 600 Turkish soldiers on some 100 tanks and armoured personnel carriers crossed into Syria near the border town of Kobani late Saturday, as both drones and airplanes flew reconnaissance missions overhead.
One group travelled to the tomb, some 35 kilometres from Turkey on the banks of the Euphrates River in Syria’s embattled Aleppo province, he said.
Another group seized an area only 200 metres from the Turkish border in Syria’s Ashma region to be the new home for the tomb, according to a statement from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office.
One soldier was killed in an “accident” during the operation, Turkey’s military said.
“Before the Turkish flag was lowered at (the tomb), the Turkish flag started to be waved at another location in Syria,” Davutoglu said.
He said troops destroyed the complex once housing the tomb.
Turkish media later showed nationalistic images of three Turkish soldiers raising the country’s flag at the new site.
The U. S.- led coalition forces were informed of the Turkish operation after its launch to prevent any casualties, Davutoglu said.