Posted on

Turkish troops enter Syria to rescue soldiers guarding tomb

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad condemns operation to relieve garrison at Suleyman Shah’s tomb and relocate remains as ‘flagrant aggression’

Turkey has staged its first open military operation in Syria, dispatching hundreds of ground troops, tanks, aircraft and drones to extract 38 soldiers guarding a historical Ottoman tomb besieged by Islamic State (Isis) militants.

Related: The relocation of Suleyman Shah: the way forward in the Middle East? | Andrew Brown

Related: Inside the Islamic State ‘capital’: no end in sight to its grim rule

Continue reading… via Syria | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1vVZXmB

Posted on

Turkey and US agree to train and arm Syrian rebels in fight against Isis

Rebel fighters drive a tank near the frontline in the village of Ratyan in the Syrian countryside on Thursday. Photograph: Zein Al-Rifai/AFP/Getty Images

Training could begin as early as next month at base in Turkey

Turkish officials suggest trained rebels could also target Syrian government

Turkey and the United States signed an agreement Thursday to train and arm Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group, said the US embassy in Ankara.

The two countries have been in talks about such a pact for several months. The deal was signed on Thursday by US ambassador John Bass and Turkish foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, said embassy spokesman Joe Wierichs. He gave no further details.

Related: Syrians have been oppressed by a dictator and jihadists, and bombed by the west – and you call us terrorists? | Zaina Erhaim

Continue reading… via Syria | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1LfJq3X

Posted on

Turkey blocks its air defense system’s integration with NATO’s

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Ismet Yilzmaz announced Thursday that his government will not permit the integration of its projected air defense and early warning systems against long-range surface missile attack, with the NATO facility located in Turkey.  The system must exclusively serve Turkey’s national military needs as part of its own command and control, and not of a “foreign” network.

via DEBKAFile http://ift.tt/1As2fhr

Posted on

Turkey detains 14 people seeking to join ISIS

Representational file photo.

(IraqiNews.com) Turkish armed forces have detained 14 people including foreigners and Turks seeking to cross the border into Syria to join the ISIS group militants, Army General Staff said on Wednesday. According to the Daily Sabah newspaper, Army General Staff said that the Turkish Army detained 14 people, including foreigners and Turks, who were seeking […]

The post Turkey detains 14 people seeking to join ISIS appeared first on Iraq news, the latest Iraq news.

via Iraq news, the latest Iraq news http://ift.tt/1FDoOS6