Turkey launches offensive in Syria against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces

Following six hours of Turkish airstrikes Wednesday on five towns in northeastern Syria, Turkish ground troops made their way across the border, accompanied by Syrian rebels.

A Syrian activist group told The New York Times that at least seven people have been killed. Turkey launched its attack against the Kurdish fighters who control the region just a few days after President Trump abruptly announced that he would pull back U.S. troops from the area, allowing the operation to take place. Despite agreeing to move U.S. troops and paving the way for Turkey to attack, Trump on Wednesday said such an assault was "a bad idea."

The U.S. and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are allies, and there has been bipartisan condemnation of Trump's decision; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), typically one of Trump's biggest defenders, said the president "shamelessly abandoned" America's allies. The Kurds were instrumental in ridding Syria of the Islamic State. Experts warn that the Turkish operation makes it easier for ISIS to re-emerge in their former northeastern Syria stronghold.

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Turkey's authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, considers the Syrian Democratic Forces a terrorist organization. Two U.S. military officials told the Times that the U.S. is not offering support to either side, but recently gave Turkey intelligence gathered from a reconnaissance aircraft.