ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th October, 2019) The Turkish forces and the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army have gained control over the strategically important town of Tal Abyad in the Raqqa province in north Syria, where Ankara has recently launched a military operation to create a so-called safe zone free from terrorists and Kurdish militia, the Anadolu news agency reported Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Tal Abyad having been "surrounded" by the Turkish forces.
Tal Abyad has been one of the strongholds of the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia) in Syria before it was retaken by the Kurdish People's Protection Units' (YPG) in 2015. Turkey considers the YPG an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and designates both as a single terrorist organization. Ankara considers the presence of Kurdish militia operating in the north of Syria, close to the Turkish border, a threat to its national security and has repeatedly criticized the United States for providing military and financial support to the Kurds.
On Wednesday, Erdogan announced the launch of Operation Peace Spring in north Syria against the IS terrorists and Kurdish militia. The air component of the operation has begun the same day in the Ras al-Ain town of Al Hasakah province, while the land operations have been launched shortly after. As of Saturday, the Turkish army reported killing 459 PKK/YPG members.
