Turkey vows to battle on after 14 troops killed in Syria

AFP, ISTANBUL: Turkey on Thursday vowed to press on with the fight against “terror”, a day after 14 Turkish soldiers were killed by jihadists in an intensifying battle for a flashpoint Syrian town, Ankara’s biggest loss of its Syria campaign so far.
The soldiers were killed in a succession of attacks by Islamic State (IS) jihadists around the town of Al-Bab on Wednesday that included three suicide car bombings.
The heavy toll showed the intensifying battle for Al Bab, which Turkish forces have been seeking to capture for weeks in the biggest test of their four-month incursion into Syria.
Turkish troops entered Syria on August 24 in support of pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, with the aim of ousting IS jihadists as well as Kurdish militia from the border area.
The campaign—dubbed Euphrates Shield—was launched as Turkey has been hit by the bloodiest attacks in its modern history, blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants.
“Turkey is in the midst of a great struggle—our fight against terror continues both in our country and outside our borders,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday.
“Unfortunately, yesterday in the Euphrates Shield campaign around Al Bab... we lost 14 brave martyrs.
“This is an existential struggle for Turkey. This is a great battle in the name of Turkey’s unity. We will always guard this unity to the end in the face of terror.”
Turkish television showed distraught relatives of the dead dealing with the news and putting Turkish flags outside their homes in a traditional gesture of respect. The earlier part of Turkey’s campaign proceeded with lightning speed and the border town of Jarabulus was taken on the first day of the offensive. But the army has suffered increasing casualties in the fight for Al Bab -- 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the border—with some three dozen soldiers believed to have been killed so far.

Turkey vows to battle on after 14 troops killed in Syria

AFP, ISTANBUL: Turkey on Thursday vowed to press on with the fight against terror, a day after 14 Turkish soldiers were killed by jihadists in an intensifying battle for a flashpoint Syrian town, Ankaras biggest loss of its Syria campaign so far. The soldiers were killed in a succession of attacks by Islamic State (IS) jihadists around the town of Al-Bab on Wednesday that included three suicide car bombings. The heavy toll showed the intensifying battle for Al Bab, which Turkish forces have been seeking to capture for weeks in the biggest test of their four-month incursion into Syria. Turkish troops entered Syria on August 24 in support of pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, with the aim of ousting IS jihadists as well as Kurdish militia from the border area. The campaigndubbed Euphrates Shieldwas launched as Turkey has been hit by the bloodiest attacks in its modern history, blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants. Turkey is in the midst of a great struggleour fight against terror continues both in our country and outside our borders, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday. Unfortunately, yesterday in the Euphrates Shield campaign around Al Bab... we lost 14 brave martyrs. This is an existential struggle for Turkey. This is a great battle in the name of Turkeys unity. We will always guard this unity to the end in the face of terror. Turkish television showed distraught relatives of the dead dealing with the news and putting Turkish flags outside their homes in a traditional gesture of respect. The earlier part of Turkeys campaign proceeded with lightning speed and the border town of Jarabulus was taken on the first day of the offensive. But the army has suffered increasing casualties in the fight for Al Bab -- 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the borderwith some three dozen soldiers believed to have been killed so far.