jarablus, syria<u+2014>not far from the square here where islamic state executioners carried out public beheadings, syrian rebels have raised a banner trumpeting the beginning of a new era: <u+201c>welcome: #safehaventurkey<u+201d> until late august this border town served as a strategic gateway for foreign fighters and supplies for islamic state<u+2019>s self-declared, now-shrinking caliphate . now it is the cornerstone of turkish president recep tayyip erdogan <u+2019>s plan<u+2014>viewed warily by the u.s.<u+2014>to transform a vast stretch of northern syria into a haven for people fleeing the violence. <u+201c>he is helping us build a new syria,<u+201d> said abu zakariya, a middle-aged syrian fighter as he stood guard outside a rebel compound with a large poster of mr. erdogan by the front gate. <u+201c>this is just the beginning.<u+201d> but the turkish military operation is putting strains on the wider u.s.-led alliance against islamic state at a critical juncture, as the coalition tries to drive the extremists out of mosul , their last major stronghold in iraq, and raqqa, their de facto capital in syria. this week, turkish-backed syrian rebel forces clashed with u.s.-backed kurdish fighters as each side tries to take the strategic city of al-bab , north of aleppo, from islamic state, according to u.s. officials. the obama administration fears such confrontations will divert syrian kurds from the raqqa offensive, slowing the attempt to deliver a decisive blow to islamic state. <u+201c>we have some allies and partners that don<u+2019>t like each other and they<u+2019>re not aligned in interests,<u+201d> one u.s. military official said tuesday. <u+201c>we want to make sure everyone remains focused on defeating<u+201d> islamic state. while the kurds have been among the most effective u.s. allies against islamic state, mr. erdogan views them as terrorists linked to a banned kurdish militant group in turkey, the pkk. u.s. officials say the syrian kurdish force is separate from the pkk, which is classified as a terrorist organization also by washington. amid the friction, <u+201c>operation euphrates shield<u+201d> has achieved two of ankara<u+2019>s goals: ending islamic state rocket attacks into turkish border towns, and driving a wedge between two regions held by syrian kurds that they would like to turn into a quasi-state, something turkey, with its own restive kurdish regions , vehemently opposes. a small number of u.s. forces are helping turkey coordinate airstrikes and shape battle plans, u.s. officials say. but turkish tanks have moved deeper into syria than american officials initially expected. the u.s. military says it isn<u+2019>t backing turkey<u+2019>s efforts to seize al-bab because ankara isn<u+2019>t coordinating with washington. turkish officials<u+00a0>hope their plans will gain traction<u+00a0>when president-elect donald trump assumes office in january. during his campaign, mr. trump vowed to build a <u+201c>big, beautiful safe zone<u+201d> in syria, and his pick for national security adviser, retired lt. gen. mike flynn, has already called for warmer relations with turkey, a nato ally. neither mr. flynn nor mr. trump<u+2019>s press office replied to requests for comment. for years, mr. erdogan lobbied for creation of a buffer zone in northern syria for the millions of civilians fleeing the fighting. the obama administration rejected the plan as too risky, partly because it could put american pilots in the crosshairs of russian forces backing syrian president bashar al-assad. even turkey<u+2019>s top military leaders resisted. on thursday, in a stark illustration of the dangers, the turkish military said three of its soldiers were killed and 10 injured in what appeared to be a syrian regime airstrike. it didn<u+2019>t provide details. syrian authorities couldn<u+2019>t be reached for comment. but the situation in turkey had changed in july, when mr. erdogan repelled a poorly executed coup attempt. after purging some 12,000 people from the military, including key officers who had opposed the syria operation, the president pressed forward in late august<u+2014>albeit with thinner ranks. western officials worry that mr. erdogan doesn<u+2019>t<u+00a0>have<u+00a0>the soldiers necessary to<u+00a0>protect<u+00a0>the 2,000-square-mile sanctuary he envisions. u.s. officials estimate that turkey has about 1,000 syrian fighters to work with, far short of the 30,000 the pentagon says would be needed. <u+201c>i think their eyes are a little bigger than their stomachs on this,<u+201d> a western official said. turkish officials acknowledge they need international support to succeed. <u+201c>turkey cannot decide this by herself,<u+201d> said one adviser to mr. erdogan. <u+201c>we have to agree with the u.s. and russia.<u+201d> russia hasn<u+2019>t publicly objected to turkey<u+2019>s safe-zone plans. the countries have been moving to repair relations that shattered last year when a turkish jet shot down a russian warplane conducting airstrikes near the turkey-syria border. the russian defense ministry didn<u+2019>t respond to repeated requests for comment. another western official said there is little indication that turkey is prepared to deploy more of its own forces in syria. its syrian rebel allies faced little resistance while taking control of<u+00a0>more than 650<u+00a0>square miles northeast of aleppo, starting with jarablus. recently,<u+00a0>fighting<u+00a0>became tougher. islamic state has pushed the rebels back from several villages and has established strong defenses around al-bab. counting those killed this week, turkey has lost at least 14 military personnel and several tanks in syria, according to the government and the country<u+2019>s state-run news agency. turkey<u+2019>s imprint is evident in jarablus, where syrian fighters wear turkish police caps while patrolling streets<u+00a0>filled with<u+00a0>more turkish flags than syrian ones. turkey is providing essentials like electricity, food, and weapons to the community. residents say they still worry about islamic state sleeper cells. the bakery, which was looted by islamic state, hasn't reopened. <u+201c>turkey has been vital for us,<u+201d> said mohammad habash, the new head of the town council. <u+201c>but we need bread. we need help.<u+201d> write to dion nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com
turkey<u+2019>s push to expand safe zone in syria risks slowing fight against isis - wsj
dion nissenbaum