Turkish, US troops begin joint patrols in Syria's Manbij

Turkish and US troops on Thursday began their first round of joint patrols in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, as part of a deal to rid the area of the YPG/PKK terrorist groups, Turkey's national defence minister announced.

"The joint patrols of Turkish and US troops on which we have made plans and completed training and which we said would start, began at 1353 GMT," Hulusi Akar said at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Turkish and US troops patrolled around the Saju Stream, which separates the Manbij frontline from the city of Jarabulus, an area falling under Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, according to media on the ground. 

TRT World's Oubai Shahbandar reports.

The PKK/PYD/YPG terror groups should know that they will be buried in their own trenches, Akar added.

"The terror group is digging trenches in Manbij as they have done in Afrin, despite promises made by the US about PKK/PYD/YPG's withdrawal from Manbij," Akar told lawmakers in a planning and budget committee meeting.

"The terror groups should know that they will be buried in the trenches they have dug," he said.

Akar added that Turkey still faced terror threats as the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government have not taken effective steps against the PKK.

"In this regard, our operations will continue until the terror threat from Iraqi territories is defeated," said Akar.

Since June 18, the Turkish Armed Forces have carried out 68 individual patrols in Manbij.

The Manbij deal between Turkey and the US focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilise the region, which is in the northeast of northern Syria's Aleppo province.

Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in August 2016 and ended in March 2017, aimed to eliminate the terrorist threat along the border in the northern Syrian regions of Jarabulus, Al-Rai, Al-Bab, and Azaz with the use of the Free Syrian Army, backed by Turkish artillery and air cover.

In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people, including those of women and children. 

The YPG is its Syrian branch.