Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country launched a long-threatened military operation in northeast Syria.

Iran Press/Asia: The offensive comes days after US President Donald Trump announced that American troops would be pulled back from the border area.

“Turkish Armed Forces together with the Syrian National Army against PKK/YPG and Deash terrorist organizations in northern Syria has started,” Erdogan wrote on Twitter according to Iran Press. 

“Our aim is to destroy the terror corridor which is trying to be established on our southern border and to bring peace and peace to the region,” he added.

"We will preserve Syria's territorial integrity and liberate local communities from terrorists," Turkish President noted.

Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri'miz Suriye Milli Ordusu'yla birlikte Suriye'nin kuzeyinde PKK/YPG ve Deaş terör örgütlerine karşı #BarışPınarıHarekatı'nı başlatmıştır.

Amacımız güney sınırımızda oluşturulmaya çalışılan terör koridorunu yok etmek ve bölgeye barış ve huzuru getirmektir.

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) 9 October 2019

Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, tweeted Wednesday that “Turkish warplanes have started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas.”

Turkey views the Syrian-Kurdish fighters as terrorists allied with Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. 

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that to meet Turkey's concerns about its southern border, US troops should be replaced with Syrian forces in this country.

"Other countries need help as well, with the Americans must leave the region and the Kurds in the region, which is actually their own country, must accompany the Syrian army," Rouhani added. 101

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