From Oct. 8-12, Turkish intelligence and special forces elements carried out reconnaissance in Syria north of Idlib and south of Afrin while maintaining contacts with Sunni opposition units that control the region. This preparatory activity was actually shaping an operational theater. Afterward, a Turkish detachment of about 100 commandos, 30 vehicles, and construction and military engineering equipment entered Syria.

An Oct. 13 statement from the Turkish military high command said Turkish troops that will serve in the Idlib de-escalation zone had begun erecting military observation posts, as specified during the peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan. That night, a second Turkish detachment, which was operating M60T Sabra and Leopard 2 tanks, entered Syria and began deploying at Sheikh Barakat, an 842-meter-high (2,762-foot-high) mountain that dominates Afrin.

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called Turkey’s deployment north of Idlib “a blatant aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and a clear violation of international law and its principles.”

The Idlib operation launched Oct. 13 marks the third time the Turkish army has entered Syrian territory in less than three years. A February 2015 operation relocated the tomb of Suleiman Shah, which was threatened by the Islamic State (IS). In August 2016, Operation Euphrates Shield began clearing the Jarablus-al Rai-al Bab triangle of IS elements; that campaign lasted seven months.