Turkish border with Syria cleared of Daesh terrorists

By Levent Tok and Halit Suleyman

KILIS, Turkey (AA) - The Turkish border with Syria was cleared Sunday of Daesh terrorists after the Turkish Army-supported Free Syrian Army took control of all regions from Azaz to Jarabulus, said security sources.

The news comes 12 days after the Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield, aimed at improving border security, supporting coalition forces, and eliminating the threat posed by terrorist organizations, especially Daesh.

The Free Syrian Army liberated new villages on Sunday, a day after the Turkish Armed Forces entered Syria’s Cobanbey district from Elbeyli in Kilis, Turkey, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

Syrian opposition forces rid Daesh terrorists from the villages of Tuveyran, Haliliye, Bab Lemon, Hac Veli, and Okuzolduren in the Cobanbey region.

On the other side of the operation, Free Syrian Army fighters reached 24 kilometers south of the Turkish border inside Syria and arrived in the Sucu Cayi region, west of the Euphrates River.

On Sunday, they took control of the villages of Ganime and Suveya, west of Jarabulus, as well as Kadikoy (El Kadi), the last Daesh-controlled village along the Turkish-Syrian border.

With the support of the Turkish Armed Forces, Syrian fighters thereby cleared of Daesh terrorists the region along the Turkish-Syrian border, forming a liberated belt starting in the Azaz region, including Cobanbey and Jarabulus.

With the new Free Syrian Army-controlled belt extending three to five kilometers inside Syrian territory, Daesh’s physical contact with the Turkish border has been totally eliminated.

Less than two weeks after Operation Euphrates Shield was launched, the Turkish Army-supported Free Syrian Army fighters have liberated an area from nearly 600 square km of PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists.

Security sources told Anadolu Agency that the operation would continue and the liberated zone would be extended to other regions.

Turkey’s campaign in northern Syria, which started on Aug. 24, is being carried out in accordance with international law and the right of self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.