Turkey announces end to operation in Syria
Seven months after Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield to ostensibly clear threats to Turkey emanating from Syrian territory, Turkish National Security Council announces operation was a success.
The announcement comes after the National Security Council of Turkey proclaimed that Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria had been successfully completed. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was present at the meeting when the announcement was made.
In an interview with Turkish television channel NTV, Yıldırım said the operation in Syria was a success and further operations would be conducted under different names.
In August 2016, Turkey first announced the ground operation in Syrian territory. Turkish tank units crossed the border soon after with the goal to take the Syrian city of Jarabulus near the Turkish border, which was controlled by ISIS.
At the time, Erdogan said the goal of the operation was to put an end to repeated attacks on Turkey from within Syrian territory and that the operation would seek to uproot ISIS and the Kurdish PYD.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey's goal was always to help the Syrian people and remove the shadow cast by ISIS on Islam. Erdogan further contended that his country would take matters into its own hands if necessary to ensure Syria's territorial integrity.
(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg)
