DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – Syria’s military command announced it was expanding military operations against the Islamic State group in the country’s north on Thursday, a move that draws government forces closer to potential conflict with Turkish troops and allied Syrian opposition forces fighting extremists in the region.
The new push comes after the military in recent weeks took 250 square kilometers (100 square miles) from IS, the command said, bringing the government forces closer to the town of al-Bab.
But it also risks a showdown with Turkish troops and Syrian opposition fighters who have jointly been trying to capture the IS-held town for weeks.
Such a showdown had been avoided while government forces were tied up driving rebels out of the eastern sector of the city of Aleppo, the provincial capital. That had allowed Turkey to wage war against IS and also Syrian Kurdish groups in northern Syria.
After President Bashar Assad’s victory in Aleppo in December, his military turned its focus on the rest of the province. Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, has vowed to reassert his control over the entire country.