ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish and Syrian rebel forces, aided by U.S. aircraft and Special Operations advisers, have launched a major cross-border offensive aimed at capturing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s last stronghold on Syria’s border with Turkey. In addition to the presence of U.S. advisers, American surveillance aircraft are providing overflight intelligence and are poised to contribute U.S. airstrikes, according to a senior Obama administration official. Erdogan and Putin remain on opposing sides of Syria’s civil war, with Turkey backing Sunni Islamist rebels and Russia supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad. “This isn’t a zero-sum game,” a senior Turkish official said of the new partnership with Russia. were making a jailbreak for the border,” the senior administration official said.

Source: National Post August 24, 2016 14:15 UTC