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Turkey Ejects Islamic State Forces From Segment of Syrian Border
[WSJ] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s military has flushed Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... from its 60-mile foothold along the Syrian border after launching a second front against the jihadist group over the weekend, the Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported Sunday. The breakthrough victory deprives Islamic State of direct access to the areas that had been vital to its ability to resupply itself with imported muscle and bomb-making materials as it fights to preserve its self-declared caliphate as well as its ability to export its terrorism around the world. Turkey’s incursions, called Operation Euphrates Shield, also represent an important achievement for the nation still struggling to restore stability after the July 15 failed coup and prove that its military preparedness hasn’t suffered despite a purge of thousands of officers after the failed takeover. Turkish armored units, artillery and air force took part in the battles, along with an estimated 1,000 Syrian rebel fighters and air support from the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. Turkey reported only one death among its soldiers during the 12-day military campaign. On Saturday, Turkish tanks with Syrian rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... coalition seized al-Rai, a town that Syrian rebels lost to Islamic State earlier in May, and spread east and west to several surrounding villages. By Sunday night, the Turkey-supported Syrian rebel forces had control of a territory stretching unbroken from Azaz to Jarablus, according to Anadolu. The weekend gains follow a successful battle last week by Turkey’s military to seize Jarablus, which lies across the border from Gaziantep, a Turkish city of two million people that has been severely destabilized by the flow of imported muscle entering Syria and leaving that war-torn country to spread Islamic State terror in their homelands. In mid August a suspected Islamic State bomber killed 54 Turks, mainly women and kiddies, celebrating at a wedding ceremony. Posted by: Fred 2016-09-05 |
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