Published 12:23 IST, October 10th 2019
Australian PM Scott Morrison worried IS may regroup in Syria
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he is worried about Turkey's campaign in Syria which might lead to regroup the Islamic State extremists group.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he is worried about Turkey's campaign in Syria which might lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State extremists group. He said on October 9 that he is deeply concerned about Turkey's actions in Syria and has expressed his perturbance to the governments of Turkey and the US about the safety of civilians and the Kurdish people.
Turkey started launching airstrikes and firing artilleries against the Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria on Wednesday after US troops pulled back from the region. Morrison said he would not comment on US President Donald Trump's decision to essentially give up the Kurdish fighters who were America's only companion in Syria to fight against ISIS militants. The Australian Prime Minister said that Trump's move was the US's internal matter and Australia is worried about Turkey's actions to cross the border and deploy in another nation.
US wiped out some of the dangerous IS militants: Trump
President Trump said that the US has wiped out some of the dangerous Islamic State militants detained in Syria to an unknown location where they can be watched during the Turkish military incursion into Syria. The Turkish troop won over Northern Syria on Wednesday to push back Kurdish fighters which it views as terrorists. The US supports the Kurdish fighters and they captured the last remaining of the IS-controlled territory in Syria in March. The Kurds captured a lot of IS militants and detained them in detention centers. It is a matter of concern that the detainees could get freedom if the Kurdish forces left their guard posts to battle Turkish forces. Turkey has begun posting on social media about the Turkish army's invasion over northern Syria.
Turkey's ground forces have crossed into an area in Northern Syria
According to the reports, Turkey's police directorate said on Wednesday that it has initiated necessary legal procedures about 78 people it accuses of engaged in dark propaganda against the military operation. A security official said Turkey's ground forces and Turkish allied Syrian opposition forces have crossed into an area in Northern Syria. The Defense Minister of Turkey said Turkish military forces have crossed the border to fight the Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria. Two Syrian activists group and a US-backed force have carried out an attack in the city of Raqqa in northern Syria. The Wednesday attack targeted a post of the US-backed Kurdish led Syrian democratic forces in Raqqa which was once the militants' de facto capital. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which monitors war has said that the attack involved two IS militants who were involved in a shooting and blown themselves up.
Updated 14:46 IST, October 10th 2019