Turkey and US Prepare Major Operation: Aim to Expel ISIL from Northern Syria

Turkey and the US will soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to expel Islamic State fighters from areas in northern Syria, along the border with Turkey, said today Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, reports the Patria news agency.

Detailed talks between Washington and Ankara on the plan concluded on Sunday, and regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Yemen, as well as Great Britain and France, could also participate, he said.

"Technical talks concluded yesterday and we will soon begin this comprehensive operation against the Islamic State," he said.

The US and Turkey plan to provide air support to moderate Syrian rebels to push the Islamic State out of an area along the border approximately 80 kilometers long, officials familiar with the plan said.

American planes have already begun strikes from Turkish bases ahead of the operation. Kurdish fighters (PYD) will have no role in the "safe zone" that is intended to be established through this operation, Cavusoglu stressed.

"We would rather have moderate opposition forces control the safe zone, without the Islamic State, in northern Syria, rather than the PYD, unless they radically change their policy," he said.

The minister also stressed that Turkish military operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey will continue until the Kurds lay down their arms, Index reports.