Politics

Turkish army shells Syrian IS-held town of Jarabulus

The Turkish army on Wednesday bombarded the northern Syrian Islamic State (IS)-held town of Jarabulus along the Turkish border.

Hisham Arafat 2016/08/24 06:04

kurdistan Turkey Islamic State Syrian Civil War Syrian Kurds Rojava

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Turkish army on Wednesday bombarded the northern Syrian Islamic State (IS)-held town of Jarabulus along the Turkish border.

Kurdistan24 learned from sources on the ground in Jarabulus that at about 4.00 a.m. local time the Turkish military had hit about 63 IS positions in the town

Turkey’s shelling came after activists said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were preparing an offensive against IS to control Jarabulus.

Sharvan Darwish, an SDF senior military commander and spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday that Turkey was worried about the victories made by the SDF, thus shelling northern Manbij and Jarabulus.

“The Turkish army shelled our positions in northern Manbij and also assassinated the leader of Jarabulus Military Council, who had aimed at controlling Jarabulus with the SDF’s support,” he said.

“This move is support for [IS] not against it as the Turkish government claims,” Darwish explained.

Additionally, Turkish-backed Syrian rebels told Reuters they were in the final stages of preparing an assault from Turkish territory on the town of Jarabulus.

The attack was aimed at preventing any YPG attempt to take control of the town.

However, the Turkish state-run press agency Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Wednesday that the operation came in response to attacks by IS militants in Syria on targets inside Turkey.

“The operation, called ‘Euphrates Shield,’ is aimed at clearing terrorist groups from the Turkish border region, tightening border security, and supporting Syria’s territorial integrity,” AA reported.

Jarabulus is a significant IS-held town on the western bank of the Euphrates River on Syria's border with Turkey.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Kurdistan24 correspondent Redwan Bezar contributed to this report near Jarabulus)

[From the vicinity of the Syrian IS-held town of Jarabulus on the Turkish border in northern Syria, Kurdistan24 correspondent Redwan Bezar speaks about the Turkish operation on the town, Jarabulus, Syria, Aug. 24, 2016).