US, Turkish Troops Headed For Military Showdown In Syria

 

Two days after we reported that Turkey valiantly demanded that US forces vacate military bases in the Syrian district of Manbij, when Turkey’s foreign minister Melet Cavusoglu also said that Ankara is calling upon the US to cease any and all support to Syrian Kurdish forces and militias, not surprisingly the US refused, and on Monday a top American general said that US troops will not pull out from the northern Syrian city of Manbij, rebuffing Ankara demands to withdraw from the city and risking a potential confrontation between the two NATO allies.

Speaking on CNN, General Joseph Votel, head of the United States Central Command, said that withdrawing US forces from the strategically important city is “not something we are looking into.”

Last week Turkish troops crossed into Syria in an push to drive US-backed Kurds out of Afrin. As part of the Turkish offensive, which is grotesquely code-named ‘Operation Olive Branch’, president Erdogan warned that the offensive could soon target “terrorists” in Manbij, some 100km east of Afrin.

US Air Force to quit Incirlik, move to Syria base

After seeing what transpired in Turkey last year, it’s definitely believable that America wants out of it. However, this story adds a twist to the plot. Not only is moving one USAF airbase into Syria odd, but five in total is a tell-tale sign of something possibly larger around the corner.

For this to happen Assad would have to be gone. Either by peaceful means or force. Syria would then be split up among three or four powers — likely American, Russian and Chinese/European forces. The Chinese have mobilized 150,000 PLA troops not only for a possible North Korean fallout.

It’s also interesting to note that the Bundeswehr (German army) is also on the move and positioning itself. Perhaps this is part of its military ‘golden triangle‘ (see also HERE) strategy.

It’s a bit of a mystery now, so this story is something to keep an eye on.

 

 

Several US engineering teams are working round the clock to build a big new air base in northern Syria after completing the expansion of another four. They are all situated in the Syrian borderland with Iraq, DEBKAfile’s military forces report.

This was going on over the weekend as senators, news correspondents and commentators were outguessing each other over whether the US missile attack on the Syrian Shayrat air base Friday, in retaliation for the Assad regime’s chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun, was a one-off or the start of a new series.

Putin warns Turkey there will be ‘serious consequences’ for ‘stabbing Russia in the back’ by shooting down one of its jets… as video emerges of rebels chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ over the body of dead pilot

Conflicting stories: Turkey claims they shot the plane down as it was violating the country’s airspace after the pilots ignored ‘ten warnings in the space of five minutes’, but Russia says the jet was in Syrian airspace

 

 

• Turkish army has shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 war plane near its Syrian border, officials confirm
• The Russian jet had violated Turkish air space and ignored ten warnings in five minutes, army says
• Putin called Turkey’s decision to shoot down the plane a ‘stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices’
• Russia claims the jet, which crashed in Syria’s Turkomen Mountains, had been in Syrian airspace when it was hit
• In response, Turkish army released flight tracking data showing where the jet violated its airspace
• One pilot dead, the other reportedly captured by Turkmen – ethnic Turks subjected to Russian airstrikes this week

Turkey’s military have today shot down a Russian war plane near its border with Syria after the jet violated Turkish air space.

The Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter planes after ignoring nearly a dozen warnings, Turkish army officials said.

President Vladimir Putin called Turkey’s decision to down the plane a ‘stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices’, as his Defence Ministry still claims the jet was in Syrian airspace.

‘The loss we suffered today came from a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists,’ President Putin said, speaking at a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday afternoon.

Turkey puts its army on full combat alert

Turkish army has been put on full combat alert as the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has intensified its activities in the country, Milliyet newspaper quoted Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc as saying on Oct.28.

Turkey starts to build new military base near Syria

ANKARA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) — The Turkish army started to build a new military base on the top of Kel Mountain, which is located near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, Turkish Daily News reported on Sunday.

Trucks carrying with military equipment from southern Hatay province were heading to the Kel Mountain, the report said, adding that soldiers have started to assemble the equipment on the top of the mountain.