US forms new Daesh ploy against Turkey

The United States has concocted a new plan to pressure Turkey during its ongoing Operation Olive Branch, which has foiled Washington’s regional division plots, by claiming that Ankara’s counterterrorism efforts are preventing the fight against Daesh. Measures to prompt the international community to increase pressure on Turkey have also been taken by the U.S.

The first phase of Washington’s strategy was to push the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as the face of the fight against Daesh. The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, which follows the leftist ideology of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

Anti-Daesh operations of the YPG/PKK-led SDF have been put on hold due to the departure of some of the SDF from their positions and their mobilization to Afrin to fight against Turkish forces.

"Operational pauses occur regularly for a variety of reasons," Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning told reporters Monday, referring to Turkey's ongoing military operations in Afrin to clear YPG/PKK-Daesh terrorists. Manning claimed that only "a small portion of the SDF" had left its positions, adding the nature of the U.S. mission to fight against Daesh in Syria has not changed.

The U.S., which was forced to admit that the arms and ammunitions it provides the terror group are used against Turkey, is attempting to halt Operation Olive Branch by spreading a “Daesh concern.” Statements from U.S. officials urging to “focus on the struggle against Daesh” and Manning’s recent confession that anti-Daesh operations have been halted are concerning.

"Our concern, of course, is that this activity in Afrin is detracting from our efforts against ISIS [Daesh]" said CENTCOM Commander General Joe Votel last week, referring to Turkey's Operation Olive Branch, which was initiated on Jan. 20 in Afrin to establish security and stability, eliminate PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorists, and save locals from their oppression and cruelty.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.

The U.S has supplied the PYD terror organization with more than 5,000 truckloads of weapons to allegedly use in the fight against Daesh, despite Ankara’s warnings that the group is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Turkey has focused on interpreting the plans behind the discourse. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Bekir Bozdağ warned against “a new game being played using Daesh and possible scenarios in Syria in the upcoming days.” A few days after Bozdağ’s warning, Daesh conducted an attack targeting Iraq’s Kirkuk.

Daesh emerged not only in Kirkuk, but also in Turkey’s Ankara. The U.S. embassy in Ankara was closed on Monday under the pretext of a security threat. The Ankara governorate was tipped off by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara about possible terror threats against U.S. embassy personnel and U.S. citizens living in the city. However, no weapons or bombs were found in the suspects’ homes. The tipoff is said to be part of the U.S. tactic to reanimate Daesh.

Allegedly, the U.S. will push Daesh into the field again. Daesh is positioned near Syria’s Iraq border, Deir ez-Zor’s south and in Deraa, near the Israeli border. The Daesh presence in Deir ez-Zor is leverage for the U.S. over Russia and the Syrian regime.

A civilian was killed and five others were wounded when a bomb-laden vehicle exploded in the Syrian city of al-Bab located in the northeast of Aleppo late Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack as of filing of this report.

Al-Bab was cleared from Daesh terrorists on Feb. 23, 2017 as part of the Operation Euphrates Shield launched by Turkish Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army. Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in late August in 2016 and ended in March 2017, eliminated terrorists along the Syrian border