Turkey Has Multiphase Game Plan for Syria Operation
Turkey Has Multiphase Game Plan for Syria Operation by Metin Gurcan – Al-Monitor
What is Turkey’s game plan in Syria? After amassing a major array of fighters and military equipment into combat formation on the 80-kilometer (50-mile) line between Turkey’s border towns of Akcakale and Ceylanpinar, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the incursion Oct. 9 into Syria’s Kurdish northern region.
Erdogan’s force includes two Turkish armored brigades, two mechanized infantry brigades, one commando brigade, two gendarmerie special operations battalions, assorted special forces teams of some 6,000 soldiers, and more than 5,000 Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) fighters. Another 1,400 fighters from the SNA were first transferred to Akcakale and are now participating in the operation.
The attack began soon after the United States withdrew 50 special forces personnel who had been patrolling between Syria’s Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn.
Ankara has divided its operation into three phases. In the first phase, it will establish three to four battalion-size military bases on high ground covering some 5-8 kilometers (3-4 miles) of road parallel to the border. As 155 mm Turkish artillery howitzers and multiple rocket launchers will provide indirect fire support for the advancing Turkish troops, there’s no need for close air support — making the first phase relatively simple…
