Turkey concerned as Syrian Kurds press toward IS-held Raqqa
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey said Tuesday that Washington has promised that U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces will only be involved in encircling the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa and will not enter the city itself.
But a top Kurdish official said the Kurdish-led forces that launched an offensive earlier this week will enter the northern Syrian city, which serves as the de facto capital of the extremists' self-styled caliphate.
The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces, which include Arab and Turkmen fighters, have driven IS from large swaths of territory, but Turkey views the Syrian Kurds who dominate the group as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast.
