Operation Shah Euphrates | |||||||
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Part of Turkey–ISIL conflict and Turkish military intervention in Syria | |||||||
View of the Tomb of Suleyman Shah |
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Operation Shah Euphrates was an operation by the Turkish military to relocate the tomb of Suleyman Shah in Syria conducted on 21/22 February 2015. The tomb had been surrounded by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces.
On the night of 21–22 February 2015, a Turkish military convoy including tanks and other armored vehicles numbering about 100 entered Syria to evacuate the tomb's 40 guards and relocate the remains. One soldier died during the operation. The tomb complex was destroyed to prevent its use by ISIS.
The tomb is now located in Turkish-controlled territory 200 meters inside Syria, 22 km (14 mi) west of Kobanî and 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the Euphrates, less than 2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of the Turkish village of Esmesi (Esmeler or Esme or Eshme) that is in southernmost Birecik District.
Prime Minister of Turkey at the time, Ahmet Davutoglu said that later a new tomb will be constructed in Syrian territory.