Turkish military tanks are seen during clashes between Turkish soldiers and ISIL fighters in the southern region of Gaziantep on September 3, 2016. Bulent Kilic / AFP
Turkish military tanks are seen during clashes between Turkish soldiers and ISIL fighters in the southern region of Gaziantep on September 3, 2016. Bulent Kilic / AFP
Turkish military tanks are seen during clashes between Turkish soldiers and ISIL fighters in the southern region of Gaziantep on September 3, 2016. Bulent Kilic / AFP
Turkish military tanks are seen during clashes between Turkish soldiers and ISIL fighters in the southern region of Gaziantep on September 3, 2016. Bulent Kilic / AFP

Turkey opens new front against ISIL in Syria


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GAZIANTEP, TURKEY // Turkey broadened its military intervention in Syria on Saturday, deploying tanks for the first time to a small pocket of rebel-held territory hugging the border north of Aleppo.

About 20 tanks, five armoured personnel carriers, lorries and other armoured vehicles crossed into the Syrian town of Al Rai, according to the pro-government Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah.

The deployment places Turkish forces on both sides of the last small stretch of territory held by ISIL along Syria’s 911-kilometre border with Turkey. After the recent advances by Turkey-backed Syrian rebels, the extremist group holds only about 25km of the frontier.

Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield – aimed at clearing out ISIL and pushing the Kurdish YPG forces east of the Euphrates River – began on August 24 when the rebels, supported by Turkish air strikes, artillery and tanks, seized the town of Jarabulus from ISIL. After taking Jarabulus, about 55km north-east of Al Rai, the rebels began moving west to link up with their comrades in the small enclave north of Aleppo.

But while the offensive against ISIL continued, rebel forces also increasingly moved against Kurdish YPG forces who are also fighting ISIL, drawing international criticism.

The move into Al Rai on Saturday was met by ISIL firing six rockets at the Turkish border town of Kilis, injuring one person, according to Daily Sabah. Turkey responded by shelling the positions from where the rockets were launched.

Turkey has feared retaliation from the extremists at home as a result of the operation. On Friday, the government banned outdoor celebrations, fearing attacks like the bombing that killed more than 50 people at a wedding in Gaziantep just days before Turkey’s intervention.

Turkey has also accelerated the building of a wall along parts of its border with Syria facing YPG territory to cut the risk of attacks from Kurdish forces in Syria.

Turkey’s moves against Kurdish forces have aggravated the United States, which backs the YPG and considers the group to be the most effective fighting force on the ground against ISIL in Syria. Turkey, however, regards the group as “terrorists” and an arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, with which it is at war at home.

Turkey has repeatedly called for YPG forces to withdraw east of the Euphrates River, with the US echoing those calls. The US says the majority of Kurdish forces have crossed back to the other side of the river, but Turkey refutes this.

The Turkey-backed rebels say they intend to push south from Jarabulus and capture the town of Manbij, which the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab groups dominated by the YPG, seized from ISIL last month.

Campaigning for Hillary Clinton on Thursday, US vice president Joe Biden hinted at a larger US role in the conflict by saying the US had intended to move special forces into the town of Manbij following a withdrawal of Kurdish forces east of the Euphrates.

Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have the chance to calm the latest tensions when they meet at the G20 summit in China on Sunday for the first time since the failed coup attempt against Mr Erdogan in July.

jwood@thenational.ae​

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)

Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)

Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)

Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)

Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)

Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)

Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)

Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)

Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)

Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

RACE SCHEDULE

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm

Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm

Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm