Turkey bombs Isis positions in Syria as rebels ‘prepare new offensive’ on jihadist-held town

Turkish artillery shelled Isis targets across the border in Syria for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, amid reports that Turkey-backed Syrian rebels are preparing an offensive against an Isis-held border town.

The latest developments have thrust the town of Jarablus onto centre stage in the Syrian civil war, putting US-backed Kurdish forces, who have been the most effective force against Isis in northern Syria, on track for a confrontation with Turkey – a Nato ally of the US – over control of the town.

Jarablus is a vital supply line and the last border point that directly connects Isis fighters with Turkey and the outside world, and separates Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria.

The town is 20 miles from the town of Manbij, which was liberated from Isis by Kurdish-led forces earlier this month. Taking over Jarablus and the Isis-held town of al-Bab further south would be a significant step toward linking up border areas under Kurdish control east and west of the Euphrates River.

An Ankara official said the Turkish shelling came after mortar rounds, believed to have been fired by the militants from Jarablus, landed on Turkish territory. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, did not provide further details.

Turkey has increased security measures at its border opposite Isis-held Jarablus, deploying tanks and armoured personnel carriers in recent days. Turkey has also vowed to fight Isis militants at home and to “cleanse” the group from its borders after a weekend suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in southern Turkey that killed at least 54 people, many of them children. Turkish officials have blamed Isis for the attack.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey would provide “every kind” of support to operations to rid Syria and Iraq of Isis fighters, including a possible offensive against Jarablus.

“We will give every kind of support to the Jarablus operation. This is important for our own security,” Mr Cavusoglu told a news conference.

The minister also said Turkey had killed some 650 Isis fighters in strikes carried out from a military base in northern Iraq, without providing a time frame.

Ankara is also concerned about the growing power of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, who it says are linked to Kurdish groups waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey.

A Kurdish-led group known as the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) liberated Manbij earlier this month. The US says it has embedded some 300 special forces with the SDF. French and British special forces have also been spotted advising the SDF.

Syrian activists meanwhile say that hundreds of Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters are gathered in the Turkish border area of Karkamis in preparation for an attack on Jarablus.

Nasser Haj Mansour, an SDF official on the Syrian side of the border, said the fighters gathering in Turkey include “terrorists” as well as Turkish special forces. He declined to comment on whether the SDF would send fighters to the town, but a statement from the SDF said “we are prepared to defend the country against any plans for a direct or indirect occupation.”

The reports and rhetoric appear to set up a confrontation between the SDF, the most effective US proxy in Syria, and Turkey.

A rebel commander affiliated with the SDF was killed shortly after broadcasting a statement announcing the formation of the so-called Jarablus Military Council and vowing to protect civilians in Jarablus from Turkish “aggression.”

Abdel-Sattar al-Jader was shot by unknown gunmen late Monday, an hour after he accused Turkey of mobilising fighters and “terrorists” for Jarablus. Mr Jader had pledged to resist Turkish efforts to take control of the city and warned Ankara against further aggression. The SDF declared its full support for the council. The Jarablus Military Council later blamed the killing of Mr Jader on Turkish security agents. There was no immediate comment from Turkey.

A Syrian rebel with one of the Turkey-backed groups told Reuters that fighters were waiting for the signal to enter Jarablus. “The Turkish artillery has not stopped ... this is to create the right atmosphere to start the battle of liberating Jarablus,” said the rebel, who declined to be identified.

A second rebel familiar with the preparations said: “The plan is to take Jarablus and expand south ... so as to abort any attempt by the Kurds to move north ... and so that Kurds don't take more villages”.

Anadolu Agency said Turkish artillery fired 40 rounds against Isis targets on Tuesday, after three rockets fired from Syria landed in an empty field in the town of Kilis. The report says the Turkish Armed Forces “covered the area with fire” without providing any details. No one was hurt by the rockets.

The Kurds' outsized role in the Syrian civil war is a source of concern for the Syrian government as well. Fierce clashes erupted between the two sides over control of the northeastern province of Hasakeh last week, and Syrian warplanes bombed Kurdish positions for the first time, prompting the US to scramble its jets to protect American troops in the area.

The government and the Kurds agreed on a cease-fire Tuesday, six days after the clashes erupted. The Kurdish Hawar News Agency said government forces agreed to withdraw from Hasakeh as part of the truce. Syrian state media did not mention any withdrawals, saying only that the two sides had agreed to evacuate the injured and exchange detainees. Government and Kurdish forces have shared control of Hasakeh since the early years of the Syrian war.

On Tuesday, Reuters claimed that Hasaka's remaining government officials confined to a few buildings known as the security quarter, while the rest of the city was under Kurdish control. The Kurds held around 70 per cent of Hasaka prior to the latest fighting.

Meanwhile, the Syrian army and its allies intensified their attacks on militant positions around the so-called military college in the northern city of Aleppo.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said in emailed comments on Tuesday that Russia and the Syrian government will announce “the first 48-hour humanitarian break in hostilities” in Aleppo as soon as they receive an official request from the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.

©Associated Press