Turkey sends tanks, troops into Syria with assault on IS

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey on Wednesday launched its first major ground assault into Syria since the country’s civil war began, sending in tanks and special forces backed by U.S. airstrikes to help Syrian rebels retake a border town from Islamic State militants.

The surprise incursion to capture the town of Jarablus was a dramatic escalation of Turkey’s role in Syria’s war. But its objective went beyond fighting extremists. Turkey is also aiming to contain expansion by Syria’s Kurds, who are also backed by the United States and have used the fight against IS and the chaos of the civil war to seize nearly the entire stretch of the border with Turkey in northern Syria.

That raises the potential for explosive frictions between two American allies. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden flew into Ankara hours after the offensive, and he backed Turkey with a stern warning to the Kurds to stay east of the Euphrates River, which crosses from Turkey into Syria at Jarablus.

Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River. They cannot, will not, under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment,” he said.

The Turkish assault, launched in retaliation after a string of bombings in Turkey, adds yet another force on the ground in an already complicated war.

A senior Turkish official told journalists that operations would continue until “we are convinced” imminent threats to Turkey are neutralized. He said the aim is to create a “terror-free zone” in northern Syria.

The Turkish assault began around 4 a.m. with a furious barrage by artillery and warplanes. Then around 20 Turkish tanks, a team of Turkish special forces and hundreds of Syrian rebels surged across the border, according to Turkish media and Syrian opposition activists.

Only hours later, the rebels burst into Jarablus, posting photos from the town’s center. IS militants withdrew apparently without a fight, retreating to the IS-held town of al-Bab further south.

In the evening, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that rebels had retaken the city. He spoke alongside Biden, who said Washington backed the offensive with airstrikes.