Turkey

Syrian government troops on Monday moved into towns in northern Syrian formerly controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish militants. That sets up a potential clash with Turkish forces.

World News

Syrian Troops Move To Support Kurds After U.S. Withdrawal

5:34pm October 14, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

Kurdish forces in northern Syria relied on American troops to help them maintain control of the region. Now, they are aligning themselves with Syrian forces that are backed by Russia.

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters sit atop an armored personnel carrier in the southwestern neighborhoods of the border Syrian town of Tal Abyad on Sunday. The U.S. plans to evacuate its troops from northern Syria amid the Turkish offensive.

Endangered By Turkish Offensive, U.S. Troops Prepare To Evacuate From Syria

6:54pm October 13, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

The U.S. will pull hundreds of troops amid air strikes and gunfire from Turkish-backed forces. "We're preparing, waiting for the order," a U.S. official close to the troops on the ground told NPR.

Latest On U.S. Troops In Syria

2:09pm October 13, 2019

by Tom Bowman

As Turkey's operation against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria continues, the U.S. military is finding itself caught in the crossfire.

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Syrians bury Syrian Democratic Forces fighters killed while battling Turkish forces in the town of Qamishli on Saturday. Turkey's military says it has captured a key Syrian border town as its offensive against Kurdish fighters presses on.

World News

Turkey Claims To Have Won A Key Syrian Border Town From Kurdish Forces

5:44pm October 12, 2019

Heading into a fourth day of military attacks on northern Syria, Turkish officials say forces have captured Ras al-Ayn and several surrounding villages. But reports indicate fighting continues.

Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain on Friday amid Turkey's military operation against Kurdish forces.

Pentagon Says U.S. Troop Position In Syria Came Under Fire From Turkish Incursion

10:57pm October 11, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

A spokesman says all U.S. troops are accounted for with no injuries. U.S. officials say they oppose Turkey's military incursion into northern Syria.

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Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, where a hospital was shuttered because of the fighting.

Health & Safety

Turkey's Invasion of Syria Worsens A Humanitarian Crisis

5:52pm October 11, 2019

by Tim McDonnell

A front-line hospital was abandoned Friday as up to 100,000 people fled Turkey's ground and air offensive.

In this photo taken from the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, smoke billows from a fire inside Syria during bombardment by Turkish forces on Wednesday.

Civilians Flee As Turkish Forces Strike Kurds In Northern Syria

8:37pm October 10, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The attack that began Wednesday has uprooted civilians in the area. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insists that the Trump administration did not "greenlight" the incursion.

A Turkish army officer prepares to unload a tank from a truck to its new position on the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, on Tuesday.

World News

Turkish Forces Launch Military Attack Against Kurds At Syrian Border

2:48pm October 09, 2019

The incursion comes after the White House announced that U.S. forces would stand aside as Turkey launched the military operation in Northern Syria.

President Trump's plan for the Turkish-Syrian border contradicts recommendations from top officials in the Pentagon and the State Department. In this 2017 photo, a U.S. officer from the coalition against ISIS speaks with a fighter from the Kurdish People'

Former Trump Envoy: Syria Withdrawal Is 'Haphazard' And 'Almost Unprecedented'

4:18pm October 08, 2019

"You can't make decisions on a haphazard basis after a single call with a foreign leader," says Brett McGurk, the president's former special envoy for the fight against ISIS.

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U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo in Baghouz, Syria, in March after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants.

In Major Policy Shift, U.S. Will Stand Aside As Turkish Forces Extend Reach In Syria

1:14pm October 07, 2019

by Scott Neuman

A White House statement late Sunday said Turkey would soon go ahead with a military operation in the country's Kurdish-dominated north and that U.S. forces "will no longer be in the immediate area."