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[Golden_Pigeon]

Jarablus, a strategic Syrian town on the border with Turkey, has been controlled by ISIL fighters for two years [EPA]
Turkish tanks and hundreds of opposition fighters thrust deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday in a lightning operation that within hours pushed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters out of a key Syrian border town.

The air and ground offensive - the most ambitious launched by Ankara in the Syria conflict - made rapid progress towards Jarablus throughout the day, as rebel fighters captured ISIL-held villages surrounding the strategic border town.

"Jarablus can now be considered fully liberated," Ahmed Othman, a commander in the Free Syrian Army, told Al Jazeera from the scene, while another rebel spokesman said ISIL fighters had fled towards al-Bab to the southwest.


Turkey offensive in northern Syria takes aim at ISIL and Kurds
"The attack started in the morning and we were able to take control of a number of villages near the town. After a few hours and after controlling the hills surrounding the town, ISIL felt the danger. A large number of ISIL fighters withdrew south towards al-Bab, which is still under [ISIL] control."

Jarablus, on strategic town on the border with Turkey, has been controlled by ISIL fighters for two years. The group is now left with only one stronghold in Syria's northeast - al-Bab.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasised in a press conference on Wednesday that the operation was also targeting Kurdish militia fighters strongly opposed by Ankara - but backed by the US as a key ally in the war against ISIL - who had also been closing in on Jarablus.

But visiting US Vice President Joe Biden reassured Turkey that Washington had instructed the Kurdish YPG that crossing west of the Euphrates River could mean the total loss of American support.

The operation - named "Euphrates Shield" - began at around 4:00am (0100 GMT) with Turkish artillery pounding dozens of ISIL targets around Jarablus.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets, backed by US-led coalition planes, also hit targets inside Syria.

A dozen Turkish tanks then rolled into Syria in support of Syrian opposition fighters who had also crossed, with as many as 5,000 rebel fighters - including groups such as the Turkmen Sultan Murat Brigade, Sukur al-Jebel, Sham Front and Feylek al-Sham.

Source

Turkey is finally sending direct military in Syria, but the confrontation with US backed militia is somewhat worrying.

It's a weird situation adding more chaos to the actual mess, while Turkey is actually getting closer to Iran and Russia, it directly supporting the syrian opposition who is fighting on the ground against Russian and Iran forces and backed militias.

 

[Sesha]

Achievement unlocked: Fuck you, Daesh

 

[purseowner]

Awful stuff, but wrong side.

 

[Deadbeat]

Which DLC pack was this in?

Spoiler

they still messing with the Kurds?

 

[joecanada]

new COD incoming? play as ISIS or Turkey, no one chooses ISIS game flops.

in all seriousness though hope they work that out there.

 

[DpadD]

I'm gonna be completely honest.

I have no fucking idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are anymore.

 

[ElephantShell]

Man the plot for Spec Ops: The Line 2 is intense.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

I'm gonna be completely honest.

I have no fucking idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are anymore.

The good guys are who you are playing as in the Single Player.

 

[Golden_Pigeon]

Damn Sorry

 

[sikkinixx]

I'm gonna be completely honest.

I have no fucking idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are anymore.

It really seems like there are no good guys. Just shitty guys and even shittier guys plus a whole lot of people caught up in int.

 

[DpadD]

The good guys are who you are playing as in the Single Player.

Only until that twist tho..

 

[electroshockwave]

[Bad Gaming side joke that shits up the start of the thread when this moves to OT]

 

[Deadbeat]

[Bad Gaming side joke that shits up the start of the thread when this moves to OT]

Then stay in your hole if you are so angry at any rays of light shining through. The only thing you can do with news as depressing and horrid as these events are is to make jokes.

 

[Sesha]

I really want a flowchart to be able to keep track of all the militias, where battles are taking place, and who's directly backing who and which groups are fighting the Syrian military and who's not. Unless I see everything laid bare on a graphic I feel like I'll continue struggling to figure out the scope of the entire war. Or wars.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Awful stuff, but wrong side.

uh isn't this good? or am i misreading?

 

[Golden_Pigeon]

uh isn't this good? or am i misreading?

It's bad for ISIS and possible escalation but unlikely. It's bad for YPG as well.

It's good for syrians.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

I think this is done now

 

[Valhelm]

It's fucking funny how ISIS has been on Turkey's doorstep for several years now, but the government doesn't decide to get involved until the Kurds start making gains.

I really want a flowchart to be able to keep track of all the militias, where battles are taking place, and who's directly backing who and which groups are fighting the Syrian military and who's not. Unless I see everything laid bare on a graphic I feel like I'll continue struggling to figure out the scope of the entire war. Or wars.

The four major factions are the Assad government, ISIS, the Kurds, and the other rebels.

Assad's government has Russian backing and some Turkish support. They are hostile to the US.

ISIS obviously wants to create a global Islamist caliphate. They're most hostile to Assad and the Kurds, but are essentially at war with the entire world.

The Kurds are a more complicated scenario. The US supports them very closely, but has recently told them to stop taking territory in northern Syria. Assad used to ignore the Kurds to focus on ISIS and other rebels, but has recently become hostile to the Kurds. Turkey is a US ally, but very, very hostile to the Kurds.

Other rebels are also vying for control. The Free Syrian Army is the remains of the largely unsuccessful American effort to oust Assad several years ago. Most of these rebels are Jihadists who don't like ISIS or Assad. Some of these rebels recently took control of most of Aleppo.