U.S. Puts Troops on the Ground in Syria to Blunt Turkish Campaign
- Buffer zones set up to prevent assault on Kurdish-held town
- Putin to meet Erdogan, Netanyahu this week as battle spreads
A convoy of US armored vehicles near the village of Yalanli, in Manbij, on March 5.
Photographer: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. and Russia have found themselves teaming up for the first time in the war in Syria -- against a country both call an ally: Turkey.
The U.S. and Russia moved this week to block a threatened drive by Turkey to seize Manbij, a town in northern Syria about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Turkish border. A U.S. deployment and a Russian-brokered deal with Syrian forces created buffer zones that headed off any Turkish campaign against the Kurdish forces who hold the town -- seen by Washington as key allies against Islamic State and by Turkey as terrorists.