Syrian civil war

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has conveyed Turkey's intention to establish patrol bases with the United States in northeastern Syria in a bid to efficiently conduct ground patrol missions in the safe zone in the same way the Turkish Armed Forces has done in the fight against the PKK in northern Iraq.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that a planned "safe zone" in northern Syria could host 2-3 million Syrian refugees that have settled in Turkey and Europe after eight years of war at home.

Syrian children lacking Turkish-language skills will be put in special adaptation classes opened just for them where they will be provided Turkish language courses, before they integrate with Turkish students, a senior official from the Education Ministry has said. 

Turkish security forces detained nine people in Syria's northwestern Afrin district for their suspected links to the PKK terror group, a local officials said on Sept. 17.

A Turkish non-governmental organization on Sept. 16 launched a six-day festival for Syrian children in the areas liberated by Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield in northwestern Syria and Turkey's southern Kilis province.

A trilateral summit in Ankara between Turkey, Russia, and Iran will add new dimensions to the Astana peace process for Syria, the Turkish president said on Sept. 16.

Turkish and U.S. armed forces on Sept. 16 conducted the fifth round of joint helicopter flights for a planned safe zone east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.

At least 12 civilians were killed and dozens injured on Sept. 15 in a car bomb attack in the Çobanbey town of Syria's Aleppo province near the Turkish border. 

The presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran will come together on Sept. 16 in Ankara for the fifth summit under the Astana Process where they will discuss the recently increased tension in the Idlib province of Syria as well as attempts to start a political solution to the nine-year turmoil in the war-torn country.

Presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran meet in Ankara today. The tripartite meeting of the so-called Astana format will discuss the situation in Syria, and in particular the situation in the northern province of Idlib.

It is the last large territory under the control of armed insurgents.