Turkish PM: Efforts to set up safe zone in Syria will continue

Turkey’s efforts to create a safe zone in Syria will continue until the Turkish border is safe and all threats to the country have been removed, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Sept. 9, Reuters reported. 

Turkey launched a full-scale offensive into northern Syria last month in an effort to sweep Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants from its borders. The Turkish military is backing Syrian rebel groups against the ISIL, while also targeting the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). 

“Our efforts to set up a safe zone in Syria will continue until the Turkish border’s safety is maintained and threats against Turkey are eliminated,” Yildirim told journalists in Ankara.  

He also added that there was “unconfirmed information” that a Turkish tank had been struck in Syria.