Free Republic

Details of the action carried out by SDF fighters against the Turkish army and allied gangs are emerging. 4 tanks of the Turkish army have been destroyed and 5 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Azaz as a result of an action by fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). On the other hand, an ammunition depot of the invading forces has been destroyed. Video at link.

The battle for a strategic hilltop is fast becoming an embarrassment for Turkey as its “Olive Branch” offensive drags on against Syrian Kurdish forces in Syria’s Afrin region.On Jan. 22, Turkish forces claimed victory over Bursaya amid cries of "Allahu Akbar," only to lose it within hours to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Yesterday, Turkish forces and their allies from the Free Syrian Army planted the Turkish flag on top of the hill, declaring they had seized full control of Bursaya once again. But authorities were forced to put the kibosh on a government-sponsored media tour of the hill today...

The powerful Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and its local allies have drawn up plans for a major attack to seize the final stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border held by Islamic State fighters, a YPG source familiar with the plan said on Thursday. Such an offensive could deprive Islamic State fighters of a logistical route that has been used by the group to bring in supplies and foreign recruits. But it could lead to confrontation with Turkey, which is fighting against its own Kurdish insurgents and sees the Syrian Kurds as an enemy. ...The source confirmed a report on Kurdish news...

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Syrian rebels appealed for U.S. airstrikes to counter a new offensive by the Islamic State in the northern province of Aleppo that could reshape the battlefield in Syria. The surprise assault, launched over the weekend, opened a new front in the multi-pronged war being waged by the extremist group across Iraq and Syria, and it underscored the Islamic State’s capacity to catch its enemies off guard. The push — which came on the heels of the miltants’ capture of the Syrian city of Palmyra and the western Iraqi city of Ramadi late last month — took them...