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Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)


eventually dying for no reason...the life cycle of a saudi merc. instead of fighting for Aleppo he fought the kurds because the money was better. Fingers crossed your powerful saudi king will liberate Aleppo @chauvunist :cheers:

The jihadi wars continue, names of 71 fallen FSA executed by Liwa Aqsa

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eventually dying for no reason...the life cycle of a saudi merc. instead of fighting for Aleppo he fought the kurds because the money was better. Fingers crossed your powerful saudi king will liberate Aleppo @chauvunist :cheers:

The jihadi wars continue, names of 71 fallen FSA executed by Liwa Aqsa

C5XAgtTXAAAn_rd.jpg:large

Celebrating the murder of those killed by ISIS..I m not surprised..you Ayatollah's benefited most from ISIS..You and Isis are Two sides of the same coin..
 
Celebrating the murder of those killed by ISIS..I m not surprised..you Ayatollah's benefited most from ISIS..You and Isis are Two sides of the same coin..

wahabis killing wahabis gotta love that. He was a merc and died for a saudi paycheck and chose money over a strategically impportant city like a fool. Was used like toilet paper by your king who didnt even send his soldiers or give refuge to his family. ISIS? The same ISIS that were brothers with the rebels until americans told the rebels to attack them?
Your playing dumb or just living in denial about the civil war. The same ISIS whose biggest online supporters hail from KSA. Now non ISIS wahhabis are splitting again and killing each other and I've asked you several time which brethren you supporting lol. The same ISIS that are redistributing saudi religious books but with their logo on. Same wahhabi religious ideology only differences are policitics one bows to the royals like you and the others want a unified state and follow Baghdadi.
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Last time i checked you were screaming along with the saudis when Russains were bombing ISIS

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wahabis killing wahabis gotta love that. He was a merc and died for a saudi paycheck. Was used like toilet paper by your king who didnt even send his soldiers or give refuge to his family. ISIS? The same ISIS that were brothers with the rebels until americans told the rebels to attack them?
Your playing dumb or just living denial about the civil war. The same ISIS whose biggest oneline supporters hail from KSA. Now non ISIS wahhabis are splitting again and killing each other and I've asked you several time which brethren you supporting lol. The same ISIS whose biggest oneline supporters hail from KSA. The same that are redistributing saudi religious books but with their logo on. Same wahhabi religious ideology only differences are policitics one bows to the royals like you and the others want a unified state and follow Baghdadi.
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Last time i checked you were screaming along with the saudis when Russains were bombing ISIS

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So what? You support Syrian Baath which is far bigger scum than Iraqi Baath aka ISIS.
 
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AFP photo
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/to...----.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110183&NewsCatID=352
The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East made a secret trip to northern Syria on Feb. 24 to meet a U.S.-backed alliance fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), officials said.

General Joseph Votel, who heads U.S. Central Command (Centcom), met with leaders from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Founded in October 2015, the SDF is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters that has seized swathes of territory from ISIL across northern Syria.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing People’s Protection Units (YPG), which make up a major part of the SDF, as terrorists groups and has been demanding the U.S. to cut all its support to the group.

The United States has special operations forces advising the SDF on the ground in Syria, but no combat units.
The trip, unannounced for security reasons, was first such visit under the new U.S. administration, but the third in a series of meetings with the SDF.

SDF spokesman Talal Sello told AFP that Votel “discussed the increase of coordination and support [to the SDF] in the era of Donald Trump.”

“There were promises of heavy weapons in future stages,” Sello said.

However, Votel’s spokesman Colonel John Thomas stressed that the general did not make any specific promises about any type of weaponry.

“During the conversation, General Votel understood their need for logistical support and resources that may be greater than what they have been provided up until now,” Thomas said.

“While assuring them that this was a need he understands, he did not make specific promises.”

In an online statement, Sello said Votel had met with several SDF commanders.

“The results were positive. We discussed the developments in the Euphrates Rage campaign and shared military matters,” Sello said.

He described the meeting as “confirmation of U.S. support for our forces.”

An SDF source told AFP the visit lasted four hours.

According to a senior source in the SDF, “Votel confirmed the coalition’s commitment to protecting Manbij from any attacks waged by Turkey or supported by it, as part of its previous commitment to protecting the area.”

Manbij is a city in Aleppo province.

“We did not discuss opening corridors for Turkish-backed forces to enter areas under our control,” the source said.

But Thomas said that, while Votel supports a peaceful transition of Manbij to a “thriving city,” he did not say if the United States would stop any supposed Turkish move towards it.

Votel “understands that open communication on all sides is the best way to prevent any unfortunate change in the progress that Manbij has made”, Thomas said.

On Feb. 23, Votel told journalists travelling with him in the Middle East that more U.S. troops might be needed in Syria, although he stressed local forces would be the primary force.

“I am very concerned about maintaining momentum,” Votel said, in comments reported by the New York Times and other outlets.

“It could be that we take on a larger burden ourselves.”

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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/mo...ency.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110198&NewsCatID=341

More than half of the construction of a 511-kilometer concrete wall being built on Turkey’s border with Syria has been completed, the head of the state-owned Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) has said.

Ergün Turan, president of TOKİ, said 290 kilometers of the wall was sealed along Turkey’s border provinces of Şanlurfa, Gaziantep, Kilis, Hatay, Mardin and Şırnak.

“The construction works of about 221 kilometers are ongoing and we will complete it as soon as possible,” he added.

Turkey shares a 900-kilometer (559 miles) border with Syria, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011.

The construction is being coordinated by TOKİ, the Defense Ministry and Finance Ministry.

The Turkish Armed Forces are boosting security on the Turkish side by erecting the concrete walls, and on the Syrian side with coalition air forces, through the Euphrates Shield operation, which began on Aug. 24, 2016. The operation aims to provide security, support U.S.-led coalition forces and eliminate terror presence along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

Turan said seven tons of mobile blocks, which are two meters in width and three meters in height, have been topped with one-meter high barbed wires.

“We also built some 260 kilometers of roads outside the wall,” he added, vowing that the border will bring security after the completion of the wall.

He said TOKİ built security roads and watchtowers for patrol duties as a part of a protocol signed with the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry.

As part of the precautions being taken to preserve border security, the government is planning to form a professional armed border patrol that will work under the aegis of the Interior Ministry.

Border surveillance is currently undertaken by the Interior Ministry, but 10 other ministries and central administrative bodies are involved at different stages such as customs, passport control and medical control.
Along other parts of the border, protection and surveillance services are provided by the Turkish Land Forces, the Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard.

With its new border plan, Ankara aims to gather and centralize different authorities for border services under the full command of the Interior Ministry. The capacity of the police, gendarmerie and coast guard personnel will also be strengthened by the ministry. Personnel from the counter-terrorism unit of the police forces will also undertake special training.

February/26/2017
 
12:58
Frigate Admiral Grigorovich carrying cruise missiles sent to Mediterranean

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ALEPPO /Syria/, February 27. /TASS/. Russian de-miners continue to assist in mine clearance operations in the eastern part of Syria’s Aleppo, working on the most complex facilities, Deputy Head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides Andrei Kotyonok told reporters.

"Although we have trained the first group of Syrian de-miners, they are still not enough so we need to complete the most difficult tasks," he said. "It is necessary to demine the area as fast as possible so that debris could be cleared. This is the most important task for now because people need places to live."

Debris clearance operation is currently underway in eastern Aleppo which was liberated from militants two months ago. "There was a huge amount of debris here, militants had deliberately build mounds of concrete blocks and steel armature. Heavy equipment that was used to remove the mounds had been discovered by chance, since there have been no supplies because of sanctions," eastern Aleppo administration head Omar Azzad said.

During the past three months, Russian de-miners have cleared over 3,000 hectares of Syria’s territory, including 4,500 homes, 250 schools, mosques, hospitals and other social facilities. As many as 36,000 explosive devices have been defused, including more than 20,000 homemade bombs.



More:
http://tass.com/defense/932818

http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/22-regime-soldiers-killed-near-syrias-al-bab/759800

By Levent Tok and Adham Kako

ANKARA

At least 22 Syrian troops were killed in a clash with Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces in Tadif town near the city of al-Bab, opposition fighters said late Sunday.

The clashes, announced on social media by Havar Kilis Operation Room representing FSA, comes days after the Turkish military declared that al-Bab had been seized by Ankara-backed FSA forces as part of the Operation Euphrates Shield.

Daesh terrorists then reportedly withdrew to Tadif, south of al-Bab, and promptly left the town to forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad without a fight.

Operation Euphrates Shield aims to provide security, support U.S.-led coalition forces and eliminate the terrorist presence along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

The operation, which began on Aug. 24, relies heavily on FSA fighters reinforced by Turkish artillery and air support.

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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ne...home.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110219&NewsCatID=341
A second group of Syrian police officers trained in Turkey as part of a joint initiative by Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions has started to return to Syria.

After completing their training inside Turkey, the group of armed men was sent back to Syria’s al-Rai and Azaz districts within the Aleppo province, where they will serve as police forces.

The first group of 450 recruits was sent to the northern Syrian town of Jarablus around a month ago after the town was cleared of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants as part of Turkey’s military Euphrates Shield operation in the area.

With the first group starting to serve in Jarablus, a police station was also built and became operational in the town. The police forces will serve in a wide range of areas extending from traffic and public security to the fight against terror.

February/27/2017
 
The Admiral Grigorovich departed a Sevastopol, Crimea, port to join the Russian fleet stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The frigate was deployed in November 2016 to launch Kalibr cruise missiles on terror cells operating within Syrian borders.

One military official said that the frigate will set out for the Syrian coast, which it plans to reach by the end of Tuesday, according to RT.

"Under the plan of combat training, the cutting-edge frigate Admiral Grigorovich has left Sevastopol and set a course for the Black Sea straits," connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, Russian Navy Captain 1st-Class Vyacheslav Trukhachyov said on Monday. "The military vessel, under the command of Captain 3rd-Class Anatoly Velichko, has embarked on its third long-distance mission," Trukhachyov added, since first being commissioned on March 16, 2016.

The mission objective of the Admiral Grigorovich will be to join and "carry out tasks as part of the Russian Navy’s permanent task force in the Mediterranean," Trukhachyov said. The commander did not specify the exact role the frigate would play in Syrian operations.

The Kremlin plans to scale back its naval presence near Syria per orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin. This decision prompted the return of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great to the main northern Russian Navy base, Severomorsk, earlier this month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=37&v=Yd1XKtXgsUA
 
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Head of Syrian opposition delegation, Naser al-Hariri (C) speaks during a press conference after a meeting with United Nations' Syria envoy on February 27, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. ( Mustafa Yalcin - Anadolu Agency )
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/assad-regime-working-with-daesh-says-syrian-opposition/760461

The Syrian regime has been setting up a buffer zone between Daesh and the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), the head of the country’s opposition delegation at the Geneva IV talks said on Monday.



On the fifth day of the fourth round of the intra-Syrian talks, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura met the Syrian opposition delegation headed by Nasr Hariri, a senior member of the largest anti-regime group, the Syrian National Coalition.

"The regime is actually coordinating with Daesh and has opened a corridor to prevent the Free Syrian Army from fighting Daesh," Hariri told a news conference at the UN at Geneva following a two-hour meeting with de Mistura.

Claiming the regime did not want the FSA to defeat the terror group, Hariri said: "This regime is setting up a buffer zone between the FSA and Daesh."

"We just gave the special envoy a video of testimony of a former detainee who was detained by the FSA and was recently released. In the video, he explains and testifies how regime forces are coordinating with Daesh," Hariri said.

About a possible change in Russia's political position at the Syria talks, Hariri said: "We see an openness of their position."

The opposition delegation is expected to meet Russian officials in Geneva.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and upwards of 10 million displaced across the war-torn country, according to the UN. The Syrian Center for Policy Research puts the death toll at more than 470,000.

*************
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/syria-opposition-forces-will-go-to-manbij-says-erdogan/760950

Following the successful operation against the Daesh terror group in Al-Bab, the next target for the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) will be the northern Syrian city of Manbij, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

“Manbij is not a place for the PYD or YPG … it belongs to Arabs,” Erdogan told reporters at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul before departing for an economic summit in Pakistan.

Manbij, an Arab-populated city on the western bank of the Euphrates River, is currently controlled by the terror group PYD, an offshoot of the PKK which Ankara has been fighting for several decades.

Turkey has insisted PYD elements must leave Manbij and withdraw east of the Euphrates.

“First of all they should evacuate the place so that local residents can come there,” Erdogan urged.

Ankara has repeatedly said one terror group should not be used against another and urged the U.S.-led coalition to stop using the YPG to eliminate Daesh terrorists in the region.

The Turkish government said it would not participate in any formation where the PYD/YPG is included.

Erdogan said FSA forces could lead the Raqqa operation, adding they have completed successful operations in Jarabulus, Al-Rai, Dabiq and Al-Bab.

Turkish-backed forces have killed more than 3,000 Daesh terrorists -- as well as some PYD elements -- in northern Syria under Operation Euphrates Shield, according to the Turkish president.

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.


Steps to Raqqa, Manbij

On Feb. 24, the Turkish military said the Al-Bab operation had been completed and the strategic city cleared of Daesh elements.

Erdogan added that the completion of the Al-Bab operation did not mean Operation Euphrates Shield was over and said there were “some steps to be taken” to free Raqqa and Manbij.

He also referred to making an agreement with “coalition forces, Russia and America”.

Erdogan said Ankara was dealing with Russia, a close neighbor, and the U.S., a strategic ally, and also with the U.S.-led coalition forces regarding the issue.

“The Turkish-led forces should be used in the Raqqa operation,” Erdogan said and added, “Because our fight is against Daesh. If our allies are sensitive in the fight against Daesh, we tell them: ‘We can move together with you’”.

“Just let Raqqa be freed of Daesh. And let the city be handed over to its real [Arab] owners,” he added.


Turkey and the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump has also been discussing a possible joint operation in Raqqa.

Some top-level officials from the U.S. visited Ankara this month to discuss a strategy. A detailed proposal is expected to be submitted to Trump this week.

“As Turkey, we don’t have any intention or plan to stay there. We will just attempt to clear threats from there. We don’t want a region around us from where we face threats,” Erdogan said.

“The Syrian people are our friends. They are our brothers. They are not threats against us,” he added.

Erdogan noted that Turkey intended to continue the process of Operation Euphrates Shield in “unity” with international forces.

“We are not in a situation to watch all happenings from distance,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey had paid a huge cost for observing from afar in the past.

He recalled Turkish government policy to be in the field as well as at the negotiation table on the Syria issue.

Erdogan also stressed Turkey's idea of training and equipping moderate opposition fighters and creating a safe zone inside Syria for displaced people.

http://aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-admiral-praises-turkeys-role-in-fighting-daesh/760311

The commander of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group conducting missions against Daesh has described to Anadolu Agency the importance of Turkey’s involvement in fighting the terrorist group in Syria and northern Iraq.

Speaking onboard the USS H.W. Bush aircraft carrier on Monday, Rear Admiral Kenneth Whitesell said: "We can’t do this now without Turkey’s cooperation and friendship. You are very important for us to be able to do our mission."

He described the ties between the two countries as a "very good relationship, a very friendly relationship".

Whitesell said their role in the Mediterranean was to conduct strike operations on Daesh targets in Syria and northern Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

"So that’s what we are doing and we have been doing this for about eight days now and we got a couple more weeks to go before we go into another theater of operations," he said.

Whitesell said his forces flew about eight to nine sorties a day but are still awaiting information from the Combined Air Operations Center in Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on how many targets they had destroyed so far.

The USS George H.W. Bush, with the callsign "Avenger," can carry 85 aircraft and helicopters, and has about 6,000 crew members.

Admiral Whitesell said the friendship between Turkey and U.S. -- both NATO members -- was based on mutual trust, adding that they could not carry out Operation Inherent Resolve without Ankara’s help.

"They [Turkey] are in charge of the procedural control of aircraft from the George H.W. Bush going through the northern route, Turkish air traffic control,” Whitesell said.

He added: "Turkey has been very accommodating. We have rules we have to go by before we are allowed to come into Turkey. We have been abiding by those rules."

Incirlik Air Base

Whitesell also stressed the importance of Incirlik Air Base, near the southern Turkish city of Adana.

"Turkish controllers have been very accommodating. They allow us to fly to Incirlik and then once we get under U.S. Air Force control we land at Incirlik air force base and refuel and then go back and do our strikes. That base is very, very important to us," he added.

Colonel Will Pennington, a command officer aboard the George H.W. Bush, said the base was very important, adding that they were able to use it when their planes were forced to land.

Turkey has taken an active role in the international fight against Daesh in both Iraq and Syria. Turkish troops also provide training to local fighters in Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul.

In Syria, the Turkish military recently announced its ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield had seen the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) wresting control of Al-Bab -- 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the Turkish-Syrian border -- from Daesh.

The Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield began on 24 Aug. 2016 to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

*Reporting by Sarp Ozer; Writing by Fatma Bulbul

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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/te...ure-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110274&NewsCatID=352

The Turkish army has established a temporary base in a strategically important point of the newly captured al-Bab, located in northern Syria.

Turkish military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Turkish army founded a temporary base on the hilltop of Akil inside al-Bab, which it along with its ally Free Syrian Army (FSA) liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The sources described the hilltop as the “most critical area” with regards to its strategic location, adding that it was overlooking the northern Syrian town.

The base also functions as a place where armored vehicles used in Turkey’s ongoing Euphrates Shield operation are parked and repaired if damages are minor.

Launched on Aug. 24, 2016, the Euphrates Shield operation aims at clearing its border with Syria of terrorists, which include ISIL and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces, which Turkey regards as a terrorist organization due to its links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey had captured Jarablus and symbolically important Dabiq from ISIL as a part of the operation.

The Turkish army had also set up a base in Dabiq after capturing it and the base in al-Bab is no larger than that in Dabiq, the sources said.

Three Turkish troops were also slightly wounded during sweeping operations inside the town when a blast occurred.

The military sources also denied FSA’s claim that 22 Syrian regime forces’ soldiers had been killed in clashes in the south of al-Bab, near the town of Tadef.

Sources said the Sultan Murad Brigade, which operates under FSA, spotted a group of around 12 Syrian regime forces’ members coming close to the “green line,” an emptied road that separates the Ankara-backed FSA from the forces of the Syrian regime in the south of al-Bab.

FSA members fired a warning shot as the Syrian regime forces continued to march, whereupon the regime forces responded in the same way.

A Russian commander leading the Syrian regime forces in the region reached out to a Turkish commander leading the FSA forces through a previously established “red telephone line,” and told his counterpart that the Syrian troops accidentally came close to the area where FSA members were stationed. Upon this call, the Turkish commander also ordered the rebels to cease fire and a clash was avoided, sources said.

Meanwhile, following the capture of Tadef from ISIL over the weekend, Syrian regime forces moved forwards to Manbij, which lies to the east of al-Bab. Manbij was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from ISIL last year. PYD’s military wing, the People’s Protection Unit (YPG), is the main element of the SDF along with some Arab forces.

February/28/2017
 
thumbs_b_c_07b89b40b80e0dd604e335875b955bfb.jpg


Head of Syrian opposition delegation, Naser al-Hariri (C) speaks during a press conference after a meeting with United Nations' Syria envoy on February 27, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. ( Mustafa Yalcin - Anadolu Agency )
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/assad-regime-working-with-daesh-says-syrian-opposition/760461

The Syrian regime has been setting up a buffer zone between Daesh and the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), the head of the country’s opposition delegation at the Geneva IV talks said on Monday.



On the fifth day of the fourth round of the intra-Syrian talks, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura met the Syrian opposition delegation headed by Nasr Hariri, a senior member of the largest anti-regime group, the Syrian National Coalition.

"The regime is actually coordinating with Daesh and has opened a corridor to prevent the Free Syrian Army from fighting Daesh," Hariri told a news conference at the UN at Geneva following a two-hour meeting with de Mistura.

Claiming the regime did not want the FSA to defeat the terror group, Hariri said: "This regime is setting up a buffer zone between the FSA and Daesh."

"We just gave the special envoy a video of testimony of a former detainee who was detained by the FSA and was recently released. In the video, he explains and testifies how regime forces are coordinating with Daesh," Hariri said.

About a possible change in Russia's political position at the Syria talks, Hariri said: "We see an openness of their position."

The opposition delegation is expected to meet Russian officials in Geneva.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and upwards of 10 million displaced across the war-torn country, according to the UN. The Syrian Center for Policy Research puts the death toll at more than 470,000.

*************
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/syria-opposition-forces-will-go-to-manbij-says-erdogan/760950

Following the successful operation against the Daesh terror group in Al-Bab, the next target for the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) will be the northern Syrian city of Manbij, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

“Manbij is not a place for the PYD or YPG … it belongs to Arabs,” Erdogan told reporters at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul before departing for an economic summit in Pakistan.

Manbij, an Arab-populated city on the western bank of the Euphrates River, is currently controlled by the terror group PYD, an offshoot of the PKK which Ankara has been fighting for several decades.

Turkey has insisted PYD elements must leave Manbij and withdraw east of the Euphrates.

“First of all they should evacuate the place so that local residents can come there,” Erdogan urged.

Ankara has repeatedly said one terror group should not be used against another and urged the U.S.-led coalition to stop using the YPG to eliminate Daesh terrorists in the region.

The Turkish government said it would not participate in any formation where the PYD/YPG is included.

Erdogan said FSA forces could lead the Raqqa operation, adding they have completed successful operations in Jarabulus, Al-Rai, Dabiq and Al-Bab.

Turkish-backed forces have killed more than 3,000 Daesh terrorists -- as well as some PYD elements -- in northern Syria under Operation Euphrates Shield, according to the Turkish president.

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.


Steps to Raqqa, Manbij

On Feb. 24, the Turkish military said the Al-Bab operation had been completed and the strategic city cleared of Daesh elements.

Erdogan added that the completion of the Al-Bab operation did not mean Operation Euphrates Shield was over and said there were “some steps to be taken” to free Raqqa and Manbij.

He also referred to making an agreement with “coalition forces, Russia and America”.

Erdogan said Ankara was dealing with Russia, a close neighbor, and the U.S., a strategic ally, and also with the U.S.-led coalition forces regarding the issue.

“The Turkish-led forces should be used in the Raqqa operation,” Erdogan said and added, “Because our fight is against Daesh. If our allies are sensitive in the fight against Daesh, we tell them: ‘We can move together with you’”.

“Just let Raqqa be freed of Daesh. And let the city be handed over to its real [Arab] owners,” he added.


Turkey and the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump has also been discussing a possible joint operation in Raqqa.

Some top-level officials from the U.S. visited Ankara this month to discuss a strategy. A detailed proposal is expected to be submitted to Trump this week.

“As Turkey, we don’t have any intention or plan to stay there. We will just attempt to clear threats from there. We don’t want a region around us from where we face threats,” Erdogan said.

“The Syrian people are our friends. They are our brothers. They are not threats against us,” he added.

Erdogan noted that Turkey intended to continue the process of Operation Euphrates Shield in “unity” with international forces.

“We are not in a situation to watch all happenings from distance,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey had paid a huge cost for observing from afar in the past.

He recalled Turkish government policy to be in the field as well as at the negotiation table on the Syria issue.

Erdogan also stressed Turkey's idea of training and equipping moderate opposition fighters and creating a safe zone inside Syria for displaced people.

http://aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-admiral-praises-turkeys-role-in-fighting-daesh/760311

The commander of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group conducting missions against Daesh has described to Anadolu Agency the importance of Turkey’s involvement in fighting the terrorist group in Syria and northern Iraq.

Speaking onboard the USS H.W. Bush aircraft carrier on Monday, Rear Admiral Kenneth Whitesell said: "We can’t do this now without Turkey’s cooperation and friendship. You are very important for us to be able to do our mission."

He described the ties between the two countries as a "very good relationship, a very friendly relationship".

Whitesell said their role in the Mediterranean was to conduct strike operations on Daesh targets in Syria and northern Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

"So that’s what we are doing and we have been doing this for about eight days now and we got a couple more weeks to go before we go into another theater of operations," he said.

Whitesell said his forces flew about eight to nine sorties a day but are still awaiting information from the Combined Air Operations Center in Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on how many targets they had destroyed so far.

The USS George H.W. Bush, with the callsign "Avenger," can carry 85 aircraft and helicopters, and has about 6,000 crew members.

Admiral Whitesell said the friendship between Turkey and U.S. -- both NATO members -- was based on mutual trust, adding that they could not carry out Operation Inherent Resolve without Ankara’s help.

"They [Turkey] are in charge of the procedural control of aircraft from the George H.W. Bush going through the northern route, Turkish air traffic control,” Whitesell said.

He added: "Turkey has been very accommodating. We have rules we have to go by before we are allowed to come into Turkey. We have been abiding by those rules."

Incirlik Air Base

Whitesell also stressed the importance of Incirlik Air Base, near the southern Turkish city of Adana.

"Turkish controllers have been very accommodating. They allow us to fly to Incirlik and then once we get under U.S. Air Force control we land at Incirlik air force base and refuel and then go back and do our strikes. That base is very, very important to us," he added.

Colonel Will Pennington, a command officer aboard the George H.W. Bush, said the base was very important, adding that they were able to use it when their planes were forced to land.

Turkey has taken an active role in the international fight against Daesh in both Iraq and Syria. Turkish troops also provide training to local fighters in Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul.

In Syria, the Turkish military recently announced its ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield had seen the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) wresting control of Al-Bab -- 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the Turkish-Syrian border -- from Daesh.

The Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield began on 24 Aug. 2016 to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

*Reporting by Sarp Ozer; Writing by Fatma Bulbul

***********
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/te...ure-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110274&NewsCatID=352

The Turkish army has established a temporary base in a strategically important point of the newly captured al-Bab, located in northern Syria.

Turkish military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Turkish army founded a temporary base on the hilltop of Akil inside al-Bab, which it along with its ally Free Syrian Army (FSA) liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The sources described the hilltop as the “most critical area” with regards to its strategic location, adding that it was overlooking the northern Syrian town.

The base also functions as a place where armored vehicles used in Turkey’s ongoing Euphrates Shield operation are parked and repaired if damages are minor.

Launched on Aug. 24, 2016, the Euphrates Shield operation aims at clearing its border with Syria of terrorists, which include ISIL and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces, which Turkey regards as a terrorist organization due to its links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey had captured Jarablus and symbolically important Dabiq from ISIL as a part of the operation.

The Turkish army had also set up a base in Dabiq after capturing it and the base in al-Bab is no larger than that in Dabiq, the sources said.

Three Turkish troops were also slightly wounded during sweeping operations inside the town when a blast occurred.

The military sources also denied FSA’s claim that 22 Syrian regime forces’ soldiers had been killed in clashes in the south of al-Bab, near the town of Tadef.

Sources said the Sultan Murad Brigade, which operates under FSA, spotted a group of around 12 Syrian regime forces’ members coming close to the “green line,” an emptied road that separates the Ankara-backed FSA from the forces of the Syrian regime in the south of al-Bab.

FSA members fired a warning shot as the Syrian regime forces continued to march, whereupon the regime forces responded in the same way.

A Russian commander leading the Syrian regime forces in the region reached out to a Turkish commander leading the FSA forces through a previously established “red telephone line,” and told his counterpart that the Syrian troops accidentally came close to the area where FSA members were stationed. Upon this call, the Turkish commander also ordered the rebels to cease fire and a clash was avoided, sources said.

Meanwhile, following the capture of Tadef from ISIL over the weekend, Syrian regime forces moved forwards to Manbij, which lies to the east of al-Bab. Manbij was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from ISIL last year. PYD’s military wing, the People’s Protection Unit (YPG), is the main element of the SDF along with some Arab forces.

February/28/2017
Nonsene. FSA+Turkey+Russia+Assad forces on the move to remove the cancerous YPG/PKK terrorists from Northern Syria (in spite of America's support of YPG). Isn't it funny, there are no Kurds living in those areas but ruled by terrorist PKK. Well their life has been short
 
As of right now heavy clashes are still ongoing between FSA and the donkeys. It is very well confirmed that our first plan of "rescuing" ar-Raqqah from ISIS through Tel-Abyad has not reached consensus with the USA.
Our second plan was clearly stating, ar-Raqqah operation will be through Manbij - and it seems like this may be the reason of the events that is going on right now. Or, that Turkey is clearly "lone-wolfing" and is trying to meet its goals in terms of PYD settlements in its borders - without the consent of USA.

X1TCh3a.png


Don't hesitate to make judgments, there are many factors that must be looked into.
Turkey doesn't care about ar-Raqqah at all, our main aim is clearing terrorists from within our borders, we just need a buffer zone between terrorists and us. With ISIS we already have successfully created this security buffer zone. Now what was worrying us most was the YPG/PYD/SDF (PKK) - for the sole reason of it having the potential of becoming an autonomous state as this has been their dream for many decades if not many centuries. And what's more important is that this progression they have shown in Syrian Rojova is almost their biggest dream coming true. And the challenge lies upon all the countries supporting such autonomous (donkey) state.

YPG therefore possesses far greater danger for Turkey than ISIS could ever do. Nobody wants, or noboy will tolerate ISIS anyways. ISIS has lost more than half of its biggest HQ (Mosul), they have been weakened in Deir-Ez-Zoor by SAA, they have lost al-Bab to Türks and FSA, ar-Raqqah's end is as well quite soon. ISIS possesses no risk to Turkey's strategic position anymore, except for terror actions that may occur inside of Turkey (God forbid).

Now, grasping this is quite important. al-Bab operation was truly extended for good reasons. As I also stated before, it was only to extent our stay in Syrian soils, mobilize our troops, and increase our number of firepower and utilize all sorts of security measurements - and most importantly, making the world believe the operation is very demanding such that increasing our numbers both in terms of foot soldiers, and also more advanced weaponry. And all this worked. Otherwise, it would be impossible to increase our numbers from 1.500 - 2.000 to (now) over 8.000 (mostly consisting of special ops units) because all the powers would be against it.

If you ask me, we may soon see an offer coming from US administration about a joint ar-Raqqah operation - only because they want us to stop annihilating their donkeys (YPG). This joint operation may be actual in the following few days. And if it becomes actual, the most plausible scenario is ar-Raqqah operation through Tel-Abyad - where our main goal of this operation is dividing YPG controlled areas to further fractions - as I said, we don't really care about ar-Raqqah or ISIS any longer as they don't possess direct major threat any longer.
 
As of right now heavy clashes are still ongoing between FSA and the donkeys. It is very well confirmed that our first plan of "rescuing" ar-Raqqah from ISIS through Tel-Abyad has not reached consensus with the USA.
Our second plan was clearly stating, ar-Raqqah operation will be through Manbij - and it seems like this may be the reason of the events that is going on right now. Or, that Turkey is clearly "lone-wolfing" and is trying to meet its goals in terms of PYD settlements in its borders - without the consent of USA.

X1TCh3a.png


Don't hesitate to make judgments, there are many factors that must be looked into.
Turkey doesn't care about ar-Raqqah at all, our main aim is clearing terrorists from within our borders, we just need a buffer zone between terrorists and us. With ISIS we already have successfully created this security buffer zone. Now what was worrying us most was the YPG/PYD/SDF (PKK) - for the sole reason of it having the potential of becoming an autonomous state as this has been their dream for many decades if not many centuries. And what's more important is that this progression they have shown in Syrian Rojova is almost their biggest dream coming true. And the challenge lies upon all the countries supporting such autonomous (donkey) state.

YPG therefore possesses far greater danger for Turkey than ISIS could ever do. Nobody wants, or noboy will tolerate ISIS anyways. ISIS has lost more than half of its biggest HQ (Mosul), they have been weakened in Deir-Ez-Zoor by SAA, they have lost al-Bab to Türks and FSA, ar-Raqqah's end is as well quite soon. ISIS possesses no risk to Turkey's strategic position anymore, except for terror actions that may occur inside of Turkey (God forbid).

Now, grasping this is quite important. al-Bab operation was truly extended for good reasons. As I also stated before, it was only to extent our stay in Syrian soils, mobilize our troops, and increase our number of firepower and utilize all sorts of security measurements - and most importantly, making the world believe the operation is very demanding such that increasing our numbers both in terms of foot soldiers, and also more advanced weaponry. And all this worked. Otherwise, it would be impossible to increase our numbers from 1.500 - 2.000 to (now) over 8.000 (mostly consisting of special ops units) because all the powers would be against it.

If you ask me, we may soon see an offer coming from US administration about a joint ar-Raqqah operation - only because they want us to stop annihilating their donkeys (YPG). This joint operation may be actual in the following few days. And if it becomes actual, the most plausible scenario is ar-Raqqah operation through Tel-Abyad - where our main goal of this operation is dividing YPG controlled areas to further fractions - as I said, we don't really care about ar-Raqqah or ISIS any longer as they don't possess direct major threat any longer.
Thank you for the essay. You are operating in another country without their approval and attacking SDF while they are a few KMs from Raqqah. You want to protect your borders than protect them. Why are you 20 KMs inside Syria?

To summarize, I hope USA delivers some very badly needed freedom to Turks and their band of lunatics.

In other news, Palmyra is back in SAA control it looks like.
 
1051180275.jpg

https://sputniknews.com/military/201703021051180341-bataan-europe-middle-east/

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Bataan will join its battle group sister ships Mesa Verde and Carter Hall, both of which deployed last week.

"[The Bataan ARG] will conduct a scheduled seven-month deployment in support of maritime security operations, crisis response, theater security cooperation, and provide a forward naval presence in Europe and the Middle East," the release stated Wednesday.

The Bataan ARG carries some 2000 soldiers and equipment from the US Marine Corps 24th Expeditionary Unit, one of seven in the United States.

Aviation assets on board the Bataan include 12 CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, 6 AV-8B Harrier attack aircraft, 4 AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors. The ship is capable of holding F35-B Joint Strike Fighters.
 

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