Turkey Says It Will Target ISIS in Raqqa, After Taking Manbij From Kurds

The Turkish military operation in Syria will soon target the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in Raqqa, said the country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, AFP reported.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are advancing toward the city of al-Bab, the militants’ last stronghold in northwestern Syria, according to Erdogan. He said the Turkish-backed fighters would then target ISIS’s capital in Raqqa, but only after taking the town of Manbij from Syrian Kurdish forces.

The main Kurdish militia in Syria, the YPG, is a key player and ally in the fight against ISIS. Ankara, however, views the YPG as an extension of its own Kurdish insurgency, which has been fighting for autonomy for three decades.

Two months ago Turkish tanks and special forces entered Syria for an operation dubbed “Euphrates Shield,” aimed at pushing back both ISIS and Kurdish forces.

The offensive to retake Raqqa will be within the coming weeks, according to U.K. and U.S. defense officials. Turkey, however, objects to any involvement of Syrian Kurdish forces.

“We do not need terrorist organisations like the PYD/YPG … I said, ‘Come, let’s remove Daesh (ISIS) from Raqqa together. We will sort this out together with you.’ We have the strength,” Erdogan said, referring to a call with U.S. president Barack Obama.

Syrian Kurdish Fighters Will Be a Part of Raqqa Offensive, U.S. Commander Says

A top U.S. military commander has stated that Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters will be a part of the operation targeting ISIS in Raqqa, Reuters reported.

“The only force that is capable on any near-term timeline are the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG are a significant portion,” U.S. army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said. “We’re going to take the force that we have and we will go to Raqqa soon with that force.”

The U.S.-led coalition wants to quickly isolate Raqqa for fears the group is using the city, its de facto capital in Syria, as a launchpad for attacks abroad. The YPG is a U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS, and the main component in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that has pushed back the militants from large territories.

However, Turkey, a NATO member, has voiced its refusal to work with the YPG.

“Turkey doesn’t want to see us operating with the SDF anywhere, particularly in Raqqa,” Townsend said. “We’re having talks with Turkey and we’re going to take this in steps.”

U.N. Will Investigate Airstrike on School in Idlib, Russia Denies Involvement

Russia has denied involvement in airstrikes on a school in rebel-held Idlib province that killed 36 people, Al Jazeera reported.

Twenty-two children and six teachers were killed on Wednesday in repeated attacks on the village of Hass in northwestern Syria.

“We don’t know yet that it was the Assad regime or the Russians that carried out the airstrike, but we know it was one of the two,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Russia denied involvement, saying neither Syrian nor Russian warplanes were responsible.

“The Russian Federation has nothing to do with this terrible tragedy,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation of the attack, saying it may amount to a war crime.

Recommended Reads:

• Agence France-Presse: For Syrian Women Under Siege, a Special Struggle: Periods
• The Washington Post: Erdogan Reasserts Turkey’s Role in Wars in Syria and Iraq
• The Wall Street Journal: ‘There Are No More Panes of Glass Left in Aleppo’
• The Guardian: U.N. Hires Assad’s Friends and Relatives for Syria Relief Operation
• Buzzfeed News: How the U.S. Is Setting Itself up to Botch the Battle for Raqqa