ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkey does not plan to use own infantry in the Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, Turkish National Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Wednesday.
"We don't plan to use our own infantry in Euphrates Shield op., FSA [Free Syrian Army] boots will be on the ground," Isik said as quoted by the CNN Turk broadcaster.
Turkey will keep providing assistance to the opposition FSA, he added.
On August 24, Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area of Islamic State, outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
