Turkey plans to deepen its involvement in Syria by establishing a de facto safe zone that could eventually cover some 4,000 square kilometres of territory where both Isis and Kurdish militias would be kept at bay.
The plan involves the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army working with rebel groups to consolidate and extend recently captured territory south of the Turkish border.
Specifically, the FSA would push from the border town of Jarabulus to join a rebel council about 40km to the south in Manbij, which was recently wrested from Isis control. The forces would move south-west towards al-Bab, about 50km from Aleppo, a Turkish official said.