Turkey vows to eliminate Daesh from Syria

By Aynur Ekiz

ANKARA (AA) - Amid the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, Turkey will press the fight against terrorist group Daesh to clear it from Syrian soil, Turkey’s president said Wednesday.

"Turkey will continue the fight against Daesh and eliminate this terrorist group in Syria," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a joint press conference with visiting Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in the capital Ankara.

On Wednesday's suicide attack in Manbij, Syria, which killed an unspecified number of U.S. soldiers, Erdogan said that he doesn't believe U.S. President Donald Trump will lie down in the face of this attack, as this would mean victory for Daesh.

He added that the attack could be meant to dissuade the U.S. from leaving Syria.

Initial reports suggested four Americans may have been killed in the attack, claimed by Daesh.

Manbij remains under the control of the PYD/YPG, the Syrian affiliate of the PKK terrorist organization.

During its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives. The PYD/YPG is its Syrian branch.

The attack came after Trump's surprise announcement last month of the withdrawal of American forces from Syria.

The pullout decision came during a phone call with Erdogan in which the two leaders agreed on the need for more effective coordination over the civil war-torn country.