Turkish-Backed Syrian Rebels Capture Symbolic Town From ISIS Militants

On Sunday Syrian rebels backed by Turkey took control of Dabiq, a strategic and symbolically important town for the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), Reuters reported.

A small town in northern Syria, Dabiq is a major stronghold for the militants, and a symbolic landmark after which they named their online magazine. According to ISIS, Dabiq is the location of a future apocalyptic battle with the West.

Dabiq’s proximity to the border made it a threat to Turkish border towns. Syrian rebels backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes took control of nine towns including Dabiq from the Islamic State on Sunday, with the Turkish military saying it has largely achieved its border security between the Turkish towns of Kilis and Karkamis, eliminating the threat of jihadist-fired rockets into Turkey.

According to the Turkish Armed Forces, nine Syrian rebels were killed and 24 were injured in the previous 24 hours. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are part of “Operation Euphrates Shield,” an offensive launched by Turkey in August to push back ISIS militants, as well as Kurdish forces, from its border. Syrian Kurdish forces are a main United States ally in the fight against ISIS.

Operations will continue – said Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin – further south toward the ISIS stronghold of al-Bab.

“Operation Euphrates Shield will continue until we are convinced that the border is completely secure, terrorist attacks against Turkish citizens out of the question and the people of Syria feel safe,” he said.

Suicide Bomb Near Syrian Border in Turkey Kills Three

Three police officers were killed by a suicide bomber in southern Turkey near the Syrian border on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Nine other people were injured, including four civilians, during a Turkish police raid on suspected members of the so-called Islamic State in Gaziantep. Another alleged suspect, identified by Gaziantep’s governor as Mehmet Kadir Cebael, also detonated a suicide bomb 12 miles (20km) away.

Cebael was reportedly organizing ISIS activities in Gaziantep, and was part of a group planning an attack on an Alevi cultural association there. Alevis are Turkey’s second largest religious group, regarded by the so-called Islamic State as “heretics.”

Some 54 civilians were killed in August when an alleged Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up at a wedding in Gaziantep. Turkey launched its “Operation Euphrates Shield” the next day, sending tanks into Syria to push back Islamic State from its border.

Talks in Switzerland End With No Joint Statements or Plans Forward

World leaders could not agree on a common strategy to end the conflict in Syria during weekend talks in Switzerland, Reuters reported.

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry hosted his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and the foreign ministers of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt weeks after a failed cease-fire was followed by intense Syrian and Russian bombing of rebel-held Aleppo. Kerry had “no special expectations” for the meeting, he said.

“I would characterize this as an example of what we wanted, which was a brainstorming and a very candid first-time discussion,” Kerry said. “A number of ideas came from the number of different ministers as we hoped that might be able to shape some different approaches.”

Recommended Reads:

• The Los Angeles Times: Why Thousands of Iraqi Fighters Have Poured Into Syria to Aid Assad
• The New Yorker: Putin, Syria, and Why Moscow Has Gone War-Crazy
• NPR: Weekend Brings ‘Worst Day yet’ for Aleppo Hospitals, and No Syria Deal in Sight
• Al Jazeera: Syria: Dabiq and ISIL’s End of Times
• The Guardian: Amid Syrian Chaos, Iran’s Game Plan Emerges: A Path to the Mediterranean