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24,000-strong TAF, FSA force to take part in Turkey’s east of Euphrates op

A force of approximately 24,000, comprised of Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters are set to take part in the operation

Ersin Çelik
13:31 - 18/12/2018 الثلاثاء
Update: 13:50 - 18/12/2018 الثلاثاء
Yeni Şafak
File photo
File photo

As Turkey’s upcoming operation east of the Euphrates to eradicate the area of terrorists looms, more details regarding Ankara’s third cross-border operation in Syria continue to emerge.

A force of approximately 24,000, comprised of Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters are set to take part in the operation.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that operation could begin "at any moment", asserting that Turkey would never allow a “terror corridor” to be set up along its border.

The first phase of the operation, whose aim is to clear terrorists from ten different garrisons, is set to be completed within two months.

Second Brigade Commander General İsmail Metin, who oversaw Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, will be first in command in Turkey’s upcoming operation.

Tunnels to be targeted first

The first target of the operation will be tunnels belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syria affiliate, the PYD, which were booby-trapped with the help of U.S. military officials.

Hundreds of tunnels were dug by the PKK/PYD so close to the border in the towns and cities of Tal Abyad, Ras al-Ayn, Ayn al-Arab, Derbasiyeh and Malikiyyeh.

Recon flights, infiltration and battlefront identification missions will destroy the booby-trapped tunnels as pre-designated targets will come under intense ground and aerial fire to pave the way for boots on the ground.

Resulting craters from the destroyed tunnels is expected to force the TAF to use mobile bridges to continue deploying armored vehicles across the border.

Last week, PKK terrorists accelerated efforts to transfer weapons received from the U.S. under the pretext of fighting Daesh to Syria’s northeastern town of Tal Abyad. The shipments particularly escalated after Turkey started to shell PKK/YPG terror positions in the city and the east of the Euphrates River.

The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.

A possible mission east of the Euphrates, which Turkey’s leadership has been suggesting for months, would follow two successful cross-border Turkish operations into Syria since 2016 – Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch – both meant to eradicate the presence of YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists near Turkey’s borders.

A total of 17,000 square kilometers are expected to be cleared from PKK/PYD terrorists during the first phase of the operation.

However, the final phase of the operation in Syria will remain under wraps until zero hour.

Additional force on the way

According to a statement made by the commander of the Idlib-based FSA Thuwwar Idlib brigade to Yeni Şafak daily, an additional back-up force of 8,000- 15,000 will be dispatched to join units at the ready.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

According to UN figures, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.

#Turkey
#Operation
#East of Euphrates
#Syria
#US
#PKK
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