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.