In Pictures

Operation ‘Euphrates Shield’ ends ISIL rule in Jarablus

Syrian rebels backed by Turkish forces drove ISIL out of Jarablus, a strategic town on border with Turkey.

Ahmed Deeb Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech that the operation targets ISIL and PYD [Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party] terror groups. [Ahmed Deeb/Al Jazeera]

Karkamis – On Wednesday Turkish troops and special forces backed by the Free Syria Army launched operation “Euphrates Shield” against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) to liberate the strategic Syrian city of Jarablus on the border with Turkey.

About 40 Turkish tanks and 2,000 Free Syrian Army fighters have entered into Jarablus around midday, shortly after Turkish air forces conducted raids targeting ISIL positions in Jarablus.

The Turkish army ordered the evacuation of Karkamis, a Turkish town on the border with Jarablus, a day before the operation began.

The battle for Jarablus lasted 14 hours before the FSA announced on its Twitter account that they captured the city and raised the Syrian Revolution flags over its buildings.

Euphrates Shield operation is considered to be the first Turkish ground intervention in Syria since the Syrian crisis started in 2011.

Following Israel’s Doha strikes, Ankara is increasingly on high alert over Israel’s regional ambitions.

The PKK began its first phase of disarmament last week, analysts say the process will be felt regionally.

The first group of PKK fighters lays down and destroys their weapons.

Fighters from PKK begin symbolic disarmament in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, ending decades-long battle with Turkiye.

PKK fighters burn weapons during disarming ceremony.

Three have died in Turkiye as blaze continues to rage in southern province, which borders Syria.

A helicopter drops water to extinguish a fire raging across a forested area.