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 the Daesh, outlawed in Russia and many other countries. As Jarabulus was retaken, the joint forces of Ankara, the coalition and Syrian rebels continued the offensive southwest.
The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus accusing Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity.
"The United States supports Daesh (Islamic State/ISIS/ISIL/IS) and is investing in terrorism. The major evidence is the incident when [US Air Force] carried out a strike on the Syrian army units in Deir ez-Zor, which paved the way for Daesh offensive on a military airfield," Brig. Gen. Samir Suleiman, Head of the Media Affairs of the Syrian Army's Political Office, said.
As for Turkey, Suleiman said it was rendering full-fledged assistance to terrorist groups in terms of weapons, experts that were engaged in fighting with Syrian forces.
"Every time our army fights with terrorist groups in all regions of the country, in particular in Aleppo, this means that it fights, although not directly, against Turkey."
US forces are also on the ground in Syria, equipping, advising, and training Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and partners for the operation to isolate and then retake the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa, Coalition Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said last Wednesday.
