Turkey-backed Syria rebels advance on U.S.-backed Kurds - AP/CBS

[TomSea]

Turkey-backed Syria rebels advance on U.S.-backed Kurds

BEIRUT - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized a number of villages and towns from Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria on Sunday amid Turkish airstrikes and shelling that killed at least 35 people, mostly civilians, according to rebels and a monitoring group.

Turkey sent tanks across the border​ to help Syrian rebels drive the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria​ out of the frontier town of Jarablus last week in a dramatic escalation of its involvement in the Syrian civil war.

The operation, labeled Euphrates Shield, is also aimed at pushing back U.S.-allied Kurdish forces. The fighting pits a NATO ally against a U.S.-backed proxy that is the most effective ground force battling IS in Syria.

Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said Turkish airstrikes killed 25 Kurdish “terrorists” and destroyed five buildings used by the fighters in response to attacks on advancing Turkish-backed rebels in the Jarablus area.

The Turkish military is “taking every precaution and showing maximum sensitivity to ensure that civilians living in the area are not harmed,” Anadolu reported.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/turkey-backed-syria-rebels-advance-on-u-s-backed-kurds/