Syrian opposition groups are preparing to embark on a campaign to seize a town from the Daesh terrorist network on the border with Turkey, in a move that would frustrate the Syrian Kurds' hope to expand the territory they control.
Turkish-backed groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), are said to attack Jarabulus from inside Turkey within a few days, according to reports.
Local groups said that the pro-Turkey factions are already deployed in the towns of Türkyurdu and Karkamış, bordering Syria. An opposition fighter, who declined from being identified, said the groups of fighters were gathering at a camp near Karkamış, just opposite Jarablus, in recent days.
There are approximately 2,000 opposition fighters within Syria who entered the camp in preparation to run an offensive on Jarabulus, which lies on the western bank of the Euphrates. Fighters, mostly drawn from Failaq al Sham, Sultan Murad, and Ahrar al-Sham factions, were coming from Azaz town and the opposition-held province of Idlib in Syria's northwest.
Jarabulus, located in Aleppo province, is a key point combining the non-contiguous zones in the territory that Kurds already hold in northern Syria.
Analysts say the opposition's offensive on Jarabulus is just a matter of time in the aftermath of Turkey's strikes on Daesh positions earlier on Wednesday. Military sources said 224 rounds have bee fired on 63 Daesh targets in northern Syria as part of Turkey's retaliation which began at 05:45 in a pre-dawn attack.
The U.S.-led coalition has backed a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters who have been making gains in their offensive to drive Daesh from Jarabulus, as part of a U.S. strategy to enlarge the footprint of Saleh Muslim's PYD along the Syrian border with Turkey. Muslim controls a 400-km-long stretch along the Syrian-Turkey border at present.
Turkey, a key supporter of FSA and its allied groups, is concerned that the Kurdish militia's expansion against Daesh aims to expand its influence across northern Syria. Syrian Democratic Forces, largely composed of PYD's armed wing, already holds the eastern bank of the Euphrates opposite Jarablus.
On Saturday, August 20, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Ankara would take a more active role in efforts to end the prolonged conflict in Syria in the coming six months.
