BALADI NEWS
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that ISIS militants held in northeast Syria could escape as a result of a Turkish military operation there, the Interfax news agency reported.
"There are zones located in the north of Syria where ISIS militants are concentrated. They were guarded until now by Kurdish armed forces. Now the Turkish army is going in, the Kurds are abandoning these camps. They could just escape," Putin was quoted as saying.
"I'm not sure if the Turkish army can rapidly get this under control," Putin added, speaking during a visit to Turkmenistan, Reuters reported.
"We should simply understand this, know and mobilize the resources of our security services to neutralize this emerging new threat," he stressed.
Turkey launched its offensive on Wednesday against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) after US President Donald Trump surprised Washington's allies in the fight against ISIS by pulling out US troops along the Syria-Turkey border.
Source: Asharq Al-Awsat.