Istanbul – U.S.-led coalition warplanes hit Islamic State targets near Syrian frontier town of Jarablus overnight, the Turkish military said on Tuesday, as forces backed by Ankara pushed deeper into North Syria.
Two A-10 planes hit and destroyed two Islamic State targets, the military said in a statement.
It said that Turkey-backed forces seized Jarablus from Islamic State militants last week.
“They have since pushed into areas held by Kurdish-aligned militias that are supported by Washington.
“Differences over Syria policy have long complicated the relationship between NATO allies, Turkey and the U.S.,’’ the statement said.
While Turkey is a member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, it is concerned about Washington’s support for Syrian Kurdish fighters.
It sees Washington as an extension of Kurdish militants who are waging an insurgency in Turkey.
The U.S. has scrambled to get its feuding allies, Turkey and the Kurdish YPG militia, to focus their firepower on Islamic State instead of each other after clashes that have threatened to unravel U.S. war strategy in Syria. (Reuters/NAN)
