Turkish PM says ISIL purged from border with Syria

Turkey says ISIL Takfiri terrorists has been pushed out of their last positions on the Turkish-Syrian border.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that Turkish military forces and Ankara-backed militants had successfully purged the border region from "terrorist organizations."

"From Azaz to Jarablus, our 91-kilometer border has been completely secured," he said during a televised speech.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed Yildirim’s claims, noting that militants backed by “Turkish tanks and warplanes" had taken several villages "after ISIL (Daesh) withdrew from them, ending Daesh’s presence... on the border."   

The Turkish military is supporting a ground offensive by hundreds of pro-Ankara militants in Syria who managed to enter the Syrian border town of Jarablus in a lightening advance after meeting little resistance from Daesh terrorists there.

Earlier, Yildirim announced that Turkey will never allow the formation of an "artificial state" by US-backed militants of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) near its border in northern Syria.

"We are there with Euphrates Shield, we are there to protect our border, to provide for our citizens safety of life and property, and to ensure Syria's integrity," he added.

SS