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Turkish Tanks Roll into Syria, Opening a New Line of Attack | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Syrian civilians, with Turkish Army tanks in the background, walk through the Turkish border as they are pictured from a village in Kilis province, Turkey, September 3, 2016. Ismail Coskun/Ihlas News Agency/via REUTERS


Turkish Tanks Roll into Syria, Opening a New Line of Attack

by | Sep 4, 2016 | Middle East |

Turkish Tanks Roll into Syria, Opening a New Line of Attack

Ankara – Turkish army has opened a new line of attack in northern Syria on Saturday, as Turkish tanks rolled into Rai town.

The incursion was launched from Kilis province, in attempt to clear the area frequently targeted by ISIS rockets and Kurdish People’s Protection units.

On Saturday, Turkish TV stations broadcasted the tanks crossing the frontier and entering the town of al-Rai. Al-Rai is about 55 km (34 miles) west of Jarablus, where Turkish-backed Syrian forces launched the Shield of Euphrates operation.

While the tanks crossed over, units stationed on the borders bombarding ISIS sites.

In addition, three Katyusha rockets were launched at Kilis from Syrian territories. One of the rockets fell on an olive trees-planted land, the other near Kilis hospital, while the third fell on Kara Bakir neighborhood.

A statement issued by Kilis province confirmed that a person was injured and that the rockets were launched from areas under ISIS control.

Turkish armed forces announced on its official website that the security forces captured 1,905 persons who illegally entered from Syria.

Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes on Friday on ISIS sites over a 90-Km area near the Turkish borders. Ankara said that it is clearing the area of any armed militias and the invasion of armed Kurdish forces.

Turkish Army leadership issued a statement saying that its missiles had targeted 12 different locations in Jarablus. The statement added that nine terrorist sites had been directly targeted. In addition, Turkish bombers destroyed three ISIS buildings in Ghandoura and Arab Azza.

The statement also declared that the Syrian armed, backed by U.S-led coalition, had liberated Ghandoura completely.

At the same time, Turkish army continued building a 3.6-meter-high concrete wall along the border with Syria in order to maintain security and prevent any infiltration from Syria.

Turkish Armed Forces units are erecting the modular 4-km walls along the Turkish-Syrian borderline between Suruc, Sanliurfa and Karkamis, and Gaziantep.

Reports said that the wall will help enhance border security with barbed wire, watchtowers, and security cameras.