Turkey-Based U.S. Drone Makes First ISIS Strike

A U.S. drone has struck an Islamic State target in northern Syria in the first such strike by a U.S. aircraft operating from Turkish soil.

“A U.S. drone today carried out one air strike in Syria near Raqqa,” a Turkish official told Agence France-Presse, referring to the town ISIS considers its de facto capital.

The official added that the drone took off on Wednesday from the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey. Under the terms of an agreement between Ankara and Washington, the U.S. has started to use Incirlik as a main base of operations to attack the Islamic radicals.

Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier announced Turkey was ready to begin a “comprehensive” fight against ISIS after avoiding directly entering the conflict for several years. The decision followed a deadly suicide bombing in July at a border town blamed on suspected ISIS jihadists.

Media reports suggest some 30 U.S. fighter jets are due to arrive at the air base in the next several days.

Tehran Drafts Plan to End Syrian Civil War

Tehran is preparing to submit a four-point plan to the United Nations to end the Syrian civil war.

The state-run news agency IRNA quoted the deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as saying the plan would be submitted to the U.N. after “detailed consultations between Tehran and Damascus.”

Abdollahian did not elaborate on the plan but Iran, along with Russia, are the key allies of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

His comments come hard on the heels of a meeting in Tehran between Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, and Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, on ways to end the conflict.

Notably, Abdollahian said most regional players now realize there is no military solution to the Syria crisis and are aiming to land on a political solution, according to the Associated Press.

U.S. and Russia Move on Syrian Chemical Weapons: Kerry

The United States and Russia have agreed on a draft U.N. resolution aimed at identifying the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria, U.S. secretary of state John Kerry said.

“We also talked about the U.N. resolution and indeed I believe reached an agreement that should try to see that resolution voted shortly, which would create a process of accountability which has been missing,” Kerry said a day after talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Malaysia, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier on Thursday, a U.S. official told the news agency that Washington and Moscow had agreed on a draft U.N. resolution aimed at identifying the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria so they can be brought to justice.

Two U.N. Security Council diplomats confirmed the final draft had been circulated to all 15 Security Council members. If there are no objections, the resolution could be put to a vote as early as Friday.

“The work is almost done. We hope to make it to Friday,” Alexey Zaytsev, spokesperson for the Russian U.N. mission, was quoted as saying, referring to the possible vote.

Recommended Reads:

• New York Times: Barrel Bombs, Not ISIS, Are the Greatest Threat to Syrians
• New York Times: ISIS or Al Qaeda? American Officials Split Over Top Terror Threat
• BBC: Chastened Assad faces up to reality
• The Guardian: As journalists in turbulent Syria we need help to tell stories as they are
• Washington Post: For these Druze refugees from Syria, help comes from an unexpected source
• NPR: A Syrian Refugee School: Nearly 2,000 Students, 5 Shifts, 3 Languages
• Voice of America: Analysis: Turkey’s ‘Safe Zone’ in Syria Will Remain War Zone
• US News: U.S. Support of Syrian Kurds Ruffles Turkey’s Feathers
• Market Watch: To get Turkey to defeat ISIS, offer Mosul’s oil