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Turkish military puts brakes on Syrian intervention

While a Turkish military operation against Syria is unlikely, Mosul is another story.
Turkish soldiers monitor the border line as they stand guard near the Akcakale border crossing in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, where Islamic State militants control the Syrian side of the gate, January 29, 2015. An audio message purportedly from a Japanese journalist being held by Islamic State militants said a Jordanian air force pilot also captured by the group would be killed unless an Iraqi female prisoner in Jordan was released by sunset on Thursday. The message appeared to postpone a previ
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There has been a recent surge of news stories and commentary in the Turkish and foreign media that Turkey might launch a military operation against Syria and Iran. For example, the Huffington Post ran an article claiming that a joint Turkey-Saudi military operation is possible in Syria, based on sources knowledgeable about Qatar-brokered senior level contacts between Turkey and Saudi Arabia to put together a regional Sunni alliance. Another commentator claims that events have passed the point of possibility, and Ankara is already preparing for a military intervention in Syria to create a buffer zone there.

In an April 30 Milliyet article, “The Headline: Turkish soldiers in Syria,” Asli Aydintasbas links these claims to the approaching June 7 general elections. She wrote that she has been hearing backroom whispers that the Sunni alliance of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait is preparing to occupy Syria. She concludes her article by asking, “Will Ankara take one more step and move to create secure zones inside Syria in the coming months or even weeks? Will Turkish newspapers, busy with upcoming elections, suddenly hit the newsstands with the banner headline 'Turkish troops in Syria'”?

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