Turkish soldiers launched an overnight raid into neighboring Syria, evacuating dozens of besieged troops guarding an Ottoman tomb and moving the crypt closer to Turkey after ceremonially planting the country’s crescent-and-star flag at its new site.
The mission, saving Turkish soldiers reportedly stuck for months at the tomb of the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, saw troops cross the border near the once-besieged border town of Kobane.
Turkey was widely criticized for not intervening for months in the Kobane battle, which finally saw Kurdish fighters backed by US-led airstrikes push out the extremists.
Photo: EPA
“We had given the Turkish armed forces a directive to protect our spiritual values and the safety of our armed forces personnel,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in televised remarks.
Nearly 600 Turkish soldiers and about 100 tanks and armored personnel carriers crossed into Syria on Saturday night, backed by warplanes, Davutoglu said yesterday.
One group traveled to the tomb, about 35km from Turkey on the banks of the Euphrates River in Syria’s embattled Aleppo Province, Davutoglu said.
Another group seized an area only 200m from the Turkish border in Syria’s Ashma region, according to a statement from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office.
One soldier was killed in an “accident” during the operation, Turkey’s military said, without elaborating.
Turkish media later showed nationalistic images of three Turkish soldiers raising the country’s flag at the new site.
“Before the Turkish flag was lowered at [the tomb], the Turkish flag started to be waved at another location in Syria,” Davutoglu said.
He said troops destroyed the complex once housing the tomb.
The US-led coalition forces were informed of the Turkish operation after its launch to prevent any casualties, Davutoglu said.
US officials and the Syrian government offered no immediate comment.
The tomb belonged to Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire. The site along the Euphrates River is revered by Turkey, whose rights there stem from a 1921 treaty with France, then the colonial power in Syria.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
RSS