US colonel praises 'tremendous' Euphrates Shield

By Tayfun Salci and Inci Gundag

LONDON (AA) – A senior U.S. military figure has described Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria as a “tremendous service” to the international coalition fighting Daesh.

Colonel John L. Dorrian, spokesman for the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, U.S. Central Command was talking exclusively to Anadolu Agency in London this week.

Dorrian praised the Turkey-backed operation which has seen Free Syrian Army forces in the north of the country pushing terrorist elements from Turkey’s southern border.

“Operation Euphrates Shield is a tremendous service to the international coalition,” Dorrian said, and added:

“It’s made the situation much more secure and put the enemy under a tremendous amount of pressure because what it has done is it’s isolated the enemy in Syria, where they have no longer the ability to reinforce or infiltrate into and out of Europe.”

Dorrian said the operation had also destroyed Daesh’s propaganda after the ancient town of Dabiq -- which Daesh previously said would see an “apocalyptic battle” -- was easily liberated by Turkish-backed forces.

The loss forced the terror group to rename one of its main online propaganda magazines, previously called ‘Dabiq.’

- Mosul

Dorrian also spoke about the ongoing operation around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to displace Daesh fighters.

The U.S. colonel said half of the eastern part of the city had been liberated in street-to-street fighting.

Also expressing condolences for the victims of recent terror attacks in Turkey, Dorrian said the U.S. would continue working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and were aiming to increase the number of Arab elements to liberate the city of Raqqa – Daesh’s so-called capital.

Turkey’s government has been angered by U.S. support for groups like the YPG -- the Syrian wing of the PKK, which is listed by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU as a terrorist organization.

“The force which liberates Raqqa must have a representation in their force that is consistent with the population in Raqqa.

“So we believe the force that ultimately liberates the city should be… primarily of Syrian Arabs,” Dorrian said.

“At the same time we will continue our dialogue with the government of Turkey on the matter…We recognize Turkey’s role and the security of Turkey is an absolutely essential part. They are NATO allies with us for 50-plus years now.”

Dorrian said the SDF’s campaign in Raqqa continued to isolate the city.

“So, since they started their campaign in November, they liberated 800 square kilometers [310 miles] of terrain…and continued to make progress against the enemy there [Raqqa],” he said.

Colonel Dorrian underlined that the lack of focus on Daesh activity in regions apart from Aleppo had given an opportunity for the terror group to recapture the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra:

“It is quite clear that the Syrian regime forces and the Russian forces that are supporting them focused on Aleppo and this is one of the reasons why Palmyra was taken over by Daesh -- because they [Russia, regime forces] were not focused to protect that area.”

Dorrian said Daesh had now not only regained territory but also taken materiel which could be a threat to coalition and Turkish forces. “This is an unacceptable situation,” Dorrian said, adding that coalition forces destroyed tanks, artillery pieces and air defense materiel which had fallen into Daesh hands.