U.S.-Led Coalition Warplanes Provide Air Support to Turkish Offensive

U.S.-led coalition warplanes supported the Turkish military offensive against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in al-Bab without conducting airstrikes according to a statement from the Pentagon on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported.

“My understanding of that was there was not a strike specifically, but there were aircraft involved in that effort, a visible show of force if you will, by coalition aircraft,” said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.

The Turkish military requested coalition air support last week when its weeks-long operation near al-Bab came under intense fire. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan later accused the U.S. of supporting ISIS. Russian warplanes have, however, bombed ISIS targets in al-Bab in support of the Turkish offensive.

The U.S.-led coalition has criticized Turkey for launching its operation there without consulting its partners first.

“We continue to talk with the government of Turkey about the appropriate level of support for the efforts there in al-Bab, and that’s an ongoing conversation, even happening today,” Cook said.

ISIS is excluded from the recent Turkish-Russian negotiated cease-fire.

Unidentified Airstrikes on Former Al-Qaida Affiliate Headquarters Kill 30 People

Leading members of the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria were killed in airstrikes on their headquarters near the Turkish border, BBC News reported.

Members of the jihadist group known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham were holding a meeting near the town of Sarmada in the Idlib countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Airstrikes by unidentified warplanes killed 30 people and injured tens of others, including leading members of the group, which is not included in the Russian and Turkish negotiated cease-fire deal in Syria.

Among the victims of the airstrikes were detainees held prisoner by the jihadists. The death toll is expected to rise, with several people in critical condition.

It is unclear whether the air raids on the Idlib countryside were conducted by the U.S.-led coalition or Russia, said SOHR. Abu Anas al-Shami, a Jabhat Fatah al-Sham spokesman, told Reuters the U.S.-led coalition was responsible for the attack.

“The headquarters targeted by the international coalition a short time ago are a main headquarters for that area and contains a number of branch offices, leading to the killing of the brothers,” al-Shami said.

Idlib is the main rebel stronghold remaining in Syria, and is controlled by an alliance of rebel factions that includes members of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

Syrian Prime Minister Visits Aleppo City, Promises Return of Normal Life

Syrian prime minister Imad Khamis promised the return of normal life and internally displaced people to Aleppo city, according to Syrian state run news agency SANA.

A Syrian government delegation to Aleppo city, including Khamis and interior minister Mohammad al-Shaar, toured the city following the recent takeover of rebel neighborhoods, They promised the government will provide security to both commercial and industrial areas within the month of January.

Government forces backed by Lebanese and Iranian militias and Russian airpower took control of all of Aleppo city in December following a four-year standoff with rebel groups in the eastern parts of the city. Nearly 50,000 residents of eastern Aleppo were displaced during the most recent offensive, with tens of thousands forcibly evacuated to rebel-held Idlib province.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• Synaps: The Syria Aid Regime That Needed Help
• The Century Foundation: Syrian Opposition Politics – With a Lower-Case ‘P’
• The Associated Press: Water Crisis in Syrian Capital as Government Attacks Valley
• Al Monitor: How Iran Sees Russian–Turkish Deal on Syria
• The Guardian: Turkey Urges Trump Administration to Turn Back on Syrian Kurdish Forces