In the dark, early hours of Saturday morning, about 600 Turkish troops backed by over 100 tanks and airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS), military helicopters and drones, stormed their way over the Syrian border for the first time since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011. The troops were on a mission to evacuate soldiers that had essentially been held hostage by the Islamic State (also ISIS or ISIL) militants who had occupied the Turkish soldiers’ surrounding areas for months prior to the raid.

 

The Turkish soldiers to be rescued were stationed at the tomb of the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey had been rotating the guards there, but in recent months it had become impossible to safely move the relieving soldiers in and the alleviated guards out. Along with escorting out the soldiers stationed behind enemy lines, they seized the guarded remains of Suleyman Shah, transporting them back to Turkey where they will be laid to rest in a safer location than Syria with all its conflict and chaos.

 

U.S.-led forces in the surrounding area were notified of the attack after it was launched to avoid casualties, and there was no report of any fighting during the raid. One Turkish soldier perished during an “accident”, but there were no other casualties.

 

The tomb’s location in Syria, and most importantly the Turkish soldiers stationed there, held significance to more than just Turkey. The Islamic State had some insurance against Turkey should they ever had tried to participate in the international opposition force against them. Now that the tomb and soldiers are back in safe territory, Turkey is more free to join the fight against the Islamic State.