Turkey’s Foreign Minister said Monday that Washington and Ankara have agreed on a plan to flush out ISIS extremists from the Turkey-Syria border.
In an interview with Reuters, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the two nations would soon launch “comprehensive” air operations to clear ISIS from a 50-mile long border zone in northern Syria.
“The technical talks have been concluded [Sunday], and soon we will start this operation, comprehensive operations, against Daesh [Islamic State],” Cavusoglu told the news agency.
He added that regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar as well as France and Britain may also take part.
Reuters reports that the joint operations include providing air cover for moderate Syrian rebels and aim to create an ISIS-free “safe zone” along the border with Turkey. ISIS has been using the border to transport supplies and foreign fighters into Syria.
U.S. and Turkish aircraft would use military air bases in Turkey to launch strikes against ISIS, Reuters says.
[Reuters]
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Write to Helen Regan at helen.regan@timeasia.com