Turkish tanks entered northern Syria on Wednesday to clear ISIS from a Syrian border town, Turkish state media reported –a move that follows recent attacks in southern Turkey that the republic blames on terror groups.
Turkey’s incursion into Syrian territory is part of a larger effort to battle not only ISIS but also Kurdish fighters in northern Syria that Ankara opposes, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“(Wednesday’s operation) started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country, like (ISIS) and the PYD,” Erdogan said, referring to a Syrian Kurdish opposition political party, CNN stated.
The ground incursion is immediately focused on clearing ISIS from the Syrian town of Jarablus, according to Turkey’s semiofficial Anadolu agency.