Operation Euphrates Shield: A successful counterterrorism strategy

As Syria’s neighbor, Turkey is one of the countries most affected by the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011. Two terrorist organizations accrued increasing strength as the war raged on. The terrorist organizations that benefited from the war are Daesh and the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The PYD and Daesh, which seized some parts of the 911 kilometer-long Turkey-Syria border, caused a security threat for Turkey.

The PYD, which is strongly supported by the U.S., seized Manbij in early August. With this step, the PYD crossed Turkey’s “red line.”

Turkey on numerous occasions had expressed that the western part of the Euphrates was a sensitive area for national security, so Ankara issued stern warnings.

Daesh increased its attacks on Turkey’s border cities with rocket attacks. When cities on the southern border such as Kilis and Hatay were being attacked almost daily, Turkey amped up its security measures.

Turkey was shaken by a major terrorist attack in a border city on Aug. 20. A street wedding in Gaziantep was targeted by a Daesh suicide bomber. Over 90 people were wounded in the attack, and 59 were killed.

The attacks that Turkey was subjected to threatened the safety of the nation's citizens, especially those who resided near the borders. The fact that PYD and Daesh were active in the south caused Turkey to take action.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) launched the Operation Euphrates Shield in conjunction with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on the morning of Aug. 24, 2016.

The operation was managed by Special Forces Commander General Zekai Aksakallı.

TIMELINE OF AUG. 24

02:00 – The exploratory Special Forces battalion entered Jarabulus.

04:00 – TAF struck Daesh with multi-barrel launcher systems and howitzers

06:08 – Air operation targeting Daesh with F16s was launched

10:00 – Turkish tanks headed toward Syria with the FSA through Jarabulus

10:30 – Antitank mines placed by Daesh were cleared

11:50 – Five neighborhoods south of Jarabulus’s center were cleared of Daesh

13:00 – FSA cleared the Keklice neighborhood as well as three other neighborhoods approximately five kilometers west of the Jarabulus center

16:00 – Jarabulus was entered approximately 12 hours after the operation was launched

17:30 – Syrian opposition commanders announced that 50 percent of Jarabulus was recaptured

18:18 – The Syrian opposition started to enter the city center with Turkish armored units

18:59 – Official institutions in Jarabulus were also recaptured

The TAF and FSA experienced rapid success, and quickly freed Jarabulus. On Aug. 29, the TAF warned the PYD to retreat to the Sajur River as Jarabulus was cleared of terrorist organizations. On Sept. 1, Turkey’s Kilis-Gaziantep border was cleared entirely of terrorist organizations, and the Azaz-Jarabulus corridor was liberated.

The FSA, backed by the TAF, headed toward al-Bab on Sept. 19 as the Mare-Azez-Jarabulus-al-Rai area and its surroundings had been recaptured.

Following the removal of Daesh from the region, the PKK/PYD was also stopped from the north. The second most important victory of the Operation Euphrates Shield after the capture of Jarabulus was the capture of Dabiq.

Dabiq, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Aleppo and around 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Syria’s border with Turkey, was symbolic for Daesh. Dabiq is also the name of one of Daesh’s online magazines.

The recapture of Dabiq was a huge blow to Daesh. Once Dabiq was purged of Daesh, approximately 1,000 square kilometers had been cleared of terrorist organizations.

On Nov. 10, the advance of the PKK/PYD toward al-Bab from the west was stopped. The distance of the FSA to al-Bab was reduced to 10 kilometers. With Turkish troops, the FSA cleared al-Bab of terrorist organizations in February.

Operation Euphrates Shield was a legitimate operation. Turkey launched an operation targeting Daesh in line with its international rights as its border and domestic security was threatened.

The most difficult part of the operation was recapturing al-Bab and its surroundings.

A total of 71 soldiers were martyred during the Operation Euphrates Shield. Al-Bab was recaptured on Feb. 24 after clashes between Daesh and the TAF and FSA.