Turkey will lose in Syria, Syrian Kurdish leader warns

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The leader of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim, warned that Turkey will be defeated in Syria along with the Islamic State, shortly after Ankara began its operation against ISIS in the border town of Jarablus. 

“Turkey is in Syrian Quagmire. will be defeated as Daish (ISIS),” Muslim tweeted. 

At 4 a.m on Wednesday morning the Turkish military launched artillery and air attacks on ISIS in Jarablus, vowing to liberate the border town and protect Syrian civilians there.

 

Turkey has vowed to combat both ISIS and the PYD. On Tuesday, Turkey launched cross-border artillery attacks targeting both ISIS in Jarablus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces north of Manbij, which that group recently captured from ISIS. 

Turkey has long wanted to establish a buffer zone in that region to prevent PYD-led forces from connecting up with the remaining Kurdish Afrin Canton, since that would put the PYD in control of the entirety of Syria’s border with Turkey.

Ankara staunchly opposes the PYD, given its links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), with which Turkey is presently at war.