Airstrikes empty Turkish border town of foreign fighters
The US airstrikes in September and a recent Turkish crackdown on illegal border crossings have significantly changed the face of Reyhanli.
REYHANLI, Turkey — Shaggy hair, rust-colored beard, he walks in with a limp, one leg riddled with shrapnel months back, the other injured by a tank bomb in the battle for Kassab this past spring.
The fighter is from northwestern Syria and belongs to Jabhat al-Nusra, a US-designated terrorist group that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) collaborates with on several fronts throughout the country.
In August, jihadists and fighters of varying loyalties had flooded the hotels and streets of this border town in southern Turkey’s Hatay region during this reporter’s last visit. The US airstrikes in September, just across the border in the Idlib region, and a recent Turkish crackdown on illegal border crossings have since changed the face of the town significantly.
The Jabhat al-Nusra fighter agreed to meet at a hotel that for at least the past two years has served as a crowded meeting place for many fighters and "facilitators."
