Turkey makes first major foray into Syria with assault on IS
Turkey makes first major foray into Syria with assault on IS
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Wednesday launched its first major ground assault into Syria since the country’s civil war began, sending in tanks and special forces backed by U.S. airstrikes to help Syrian rebels retake a border town from Islamic State militants.
The surprise incursion to capture the town of Jarablus was a dramatic escalation of Turkey’s role in Syria’s war. But its objective went beyond fighting extremists. Turkey is also aiming to contain expansion by Syria’s Kurds, who are also backed by the United States and have used the fight against IS and the chaos of the civil war to seize nearly the entire stretch of the border with Turkey in northern Syria.
That raises the potential for explosive frictions between two American allies. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden flew into Ankara hours after the offensive, and he backed Turkey with a stern warning to the Kurds to stay east of the Euphrates River, which crosses from Turkey into Syria at Jarablus.
Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River. They cannot, will not, under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment,” he said.
The Turkish assault, launched in retaliation after a string of militant bombings in Turkey, adds yet another powerhouse force on the ground in an already complicated war.
Volatile mix in Syria war puts new strain on US strategy
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military picture in Syria is getting more chaotic and complicated by the day, putting new strains on the Obama administration’s strategy of partnering with a hodgepodge of local fighters against the Islamic State group without getting pulled deeper into Syria’s civil war or rupturing relations with Turkey.
Developments in recent weeks illustrate the fine balance the U.S. is trying to strike. For example, the Pentagon may get drawn into cooperating with Russian forces in Syria even though it believes Moscow’s military intervention has only undermined the U.S. goal of defeating IS. And just last week the U.S. was compelled to respond when Syrian warplanes struck in an area not far from where U.S. troops were operating on the ground.
Adding to the volatile mix Tuesday, Turkish forces allied with Syrian Arab rebels and backed by U.S. air power pushed into Syria to retake Jarablus, a border town held by the Islamic State. In addition to helping with intelligence and aerial surveillance, the U.S. conducted airstrikes with A-10 and F-16 planes.
This is significant on several levels. First, it marks Turkey’s most overt incursion into Syria. It also put Turkey on a path toward potential confrontation with Kurdish fighters in Syria who the United States is supporting in their fight against Islamic State militants and have been the most effective force battling IS in northern Syria.
U.S. officials were aware of a Turkish fear that a group of those U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, fighting as members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, might be preparing for a “jail break” from their American advisers to the Turkish border, according to a senior administration official traveling with Vice President Joe Biden, who was visiting Ankara on Tuesday.
Trump, aiming to widen support, makes pitch to Hispanics
TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Visiting a battleground state he can’t afford to lose, Donald Trump promised Hispanics “a much better life” on Wednesday in a Florida speech that continued his recent effort to soften his tone and broaden his support 11 weeks before the presidential election.
The Republican presidential candidate also repeated his promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to keep out immigrants, underscoring the tricky balancing act he faces in retaining backing from conservatives while beckoning to moderates for their votes.
“I am going to fight to give every Hispanic citizen a much better future, a much better life,” Trump told a rally in Tampa as polls show him trailing in the critical state. “You have the right to walk outside without being shot. You have a right to a good education for your child. You have the right to own your home. You have the right to have a good job.”
Trump dominated presidential campaign coverage for the day as his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, was fundraising in California.
Her drive for the White House got a rhetorical boost when her defeated competitor for her party’s nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, told The Associated Press that he’ll campaign actively for Clinton this fall. Sanders, who turns 75 on Sept. 8, also said he’s leaning toward seeking re-election as an independent senator in 2018.
Colombia, rebels say they have reached historic peace deal
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government and leftist rebels said Wednesday that they have reached a deal to end Latin America’s last major guerrilla war, opening a new chapter for the country after more than a half-century of political bloodshed.
Negotiators for the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said on Twitter that they would announce details of the successful conclusion of negotiations Wednesday evening in Havana.
In the past week, the two sides had worked around the clock to hammer out final details of an accord that commits Colombia’s government to carrying out aggressive land reform, an overhaul of its anti-narcotics strategy and a mass expansion of the state in traditionally neglected areas of the country.
“Today I hope to give historic, very important news to the country,” President Juan Manuel Santos said earlier in the day.
The accord must still be ratified by voters in a plebiscite. But just the wrapping up of talks opens the possibility for Colombians to put behind them more than 50 years of political bloodshed that has claimed more than 220,000 victims and driven more than 5 million people from their homes.
Militants attack American University in Afghanistan, 1 dead
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Militants attacked the American University of Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding another 18, officials said.
AP photographer Massoud Hossaini was in a classroom with 15 students when he heard an explosion on the southern flank of the campus.
“I went to the window to see what was going on, and I saw a person in normal clothes outside. He shot at me and shattered the glass,” Hossaini said, adding that he fell on the glass and cut his hands.
The students then barricaded themselves inside the classroom, pushing chairs and desks against the door, and staying on the floor. Hossaini said at least two grenades were thrown into the classroom, wounding several of his classmates.
Hossaini and about nine students later managed to escape from the campus through an emergency gate.
Minneapolis bridge collapse survivor faces terror charge
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A survivor of the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people is now facing terror charges after authorities say he went to Syria to join the Islamic State group, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
Mohamed Amiin Ali Roble, 20, was charged Wednesday with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
He was weeks shy of his 11th birthday when the school bus he was riding plummeted about 30 feet as the bridge collapsed.
He was one of 145 people injured, and received more than $91,000 in settlement funds on his 18th birthday. That was just weeks before federal prosecutors say he left the country.
Roble’s name first surfaced in May during the federal trial of three Minnesota men who were convicted of conspiring to join the Islamic State group. The bridge collapse wasn’t mentioned at trial, but The Associated Press made the connection using public records.