Turkey evacuates 40 soldiers protecting historic tomb in Syria

Forty Turkish military personnel guarding the historic tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman Empire’s founder near Aleppo, were Sunday evacuated from Syria. The tomb, accorded Turkish ex-territorial status by international accords, had been surrounded by the Islamic State for almost a year. DEBKAfile: Ankara evacuated the site about 40 km inside Syria to prevent the tomb and its soldiers falling into ISIS hands. Substantial force was employed – 57 armored vehicles, fighter helicopters, drones and an early warning AWACS Boeing. One Turkish soldier was killed. Ankara announced that the tomb had been relocated to another part of Syria but did not say where.