The Only NATO Ally in Ground Combat Against DAESH? Examining the Claim Through Operation Euphrates Shield

Why It Matters

The claim that Türkiye is 'the only NATO ally in ground combat against DAESH' is accurate in a narrow sense and contested in a broad one. According to Ankara, Operation Euphrates Shield (2016–2017) was the only sustained offensive in which a NATO member's own conventional army fought DAESH on the ground in Syria. Other allies, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, describe more limited ground roles in their own official statements. How the claim is worded therefore determines whether it holds.

This article sets out the timeline, the figures Ankara cites (with their limits), the partners' own descriptions of their roles, and the Syrian context that shapes Türkiye's argument about the PYD/YPG.

Background

Timeline

Date	Event
September 2014	The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/DAESH is formed; air campaigns begin in Iraq and Syria.
2014–2015	The siege of Kobani brings the PYD/YPG into direct cooperation with coalition air power.
July 2015	After the Suruç bombing, Türkiye notifies the UN Security Council under Article 51 of the UN Charter and opens Incirlik Air Base to coalition operations, according to Turkish and coalition accounts.
October 2015	The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the YPG, are formed and become the principal US ground partner.
2015–2016	DAESH attacks hit Türkiye, including Ankara (October 2015) and Istanbul Atatürk Airport (June 2016), and rocket fire hits border towns such as Kilis.
24 August 2016	Euphrates Shield begins; Jarabulus is taken from DAESH within hours.
December 2016 – 23 February 2017	The battle for al-Bab, a major DAESH stronghold, ends with its capture.
29 March 2017	Türkiye announces the end of Euphrates Shield.

What Euphrates Shield was

The operation was conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) together with Syrian opposition fighters, then commonly called the Free Syrian Army and later organized in the Syrian National Army. Turkish officials stated two aims: to clear DAESH from Türkiye's southern border and to prevent the PYD/YPG from linking its cantons into a continuous belt along the frontier. It was the first of four Turkish operations in northern Syria, followed by Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019) and Spring Shield (2020).

For wider doctrinal context, see Security Azimuth: How Border Doctrine and a 80%-Domestic Defense Industry Shape Türkiye's Strategic Autonomy and the sister-publication analysis Crossroads Review: Counter-Terrorism at the Source: Türkiye, UN Charter Article 51 and Northern Syria and Iraq.

The figures Ankara cites

Turkish government sources, including the Presidency, the Ministry of National Defence (MSB) and the Foreign Ministry, have repeatedly stated two numbers:

• More than 4,000 DAESH terrorists neutralized in northern Syria, in operations led by the TSK.
• About 100,000 DAESH-linked individuals prevented from entering Türkiye through border and entry-ban measures.

Limits of verification. These are Turkish government figures, and we are not aware of an independent, itemized dataset that confirms or refutes them. 'Neutralized' is an official term that typically covers killed, captured and surrendered, and the separate counts are not publicly broken down. The 100,000 figure is an administrative statistic about border control and entry bans. Because it measures people stopped, not combatants fought, it cannot be checked against battlefield records. Readers should treat both numbers as Ankara's official claims, not as independently audited totals. Our own approach to such cases is described in Editorial Principles.

Key Players & Positions

United States and the coalition command

The US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) has described its mission as defeating DAESH 'by, with and through' local partner forces, with US personnel in an 'advise, assist and accompany' role. US forces also used artillery in support of the Raqqa campaign in 2017. In the coalition's framing, the SDF carried out most of the ground fighting in eastern Syria, and the US designates the PKK as a terrorist organization while treating the SDF as a counter-DAESH partner.

France and the United Kingdom

France (Opération Chammal) and the United Kingdom (Operation Shader) have described their contributions mainly in terms of air strikes, intelligence, training and, in France's case, artillery support to partner forces in Iraq and Syria. Both governments have publicly stated that their personnel work with Iraqi and Syrian partners and do not lead their own maneuver offensives.

NATO as an organization

NATO did not run a combat mission against DAESH. It supported the coalition with AWACS surveillance aircraft from late 2016 and joined the Global Coalition as an institution in 2017. Allied contributions therefore sit under national or coalition commands, not a NATO operation.

The SDF and the PYD/YPG

The SDF and its YPG core say they were the coalition's effective ground force and paid the heaviest price in territory seized from DAESH. They reject the label of being PKK's Syrian branch and describe themselves as a Syrian multi-ethnic force.

Syrian and regional context

Euphrates Shield took place during Syria's civil war, with the Damascus government, Russia and Iran on one side and various opposition groups and foreign powers on the other. Türkiye has said it respects Syria's territorial integrity. After the fall of the Assad government in December 2024, the question of how the SDF would integrate into a unified Syrian state became a central issue, and developments are still unfolding.

Türkiye's Strategic Bearing

Türkiye's Strategic Bearing (official Turkish policy, as stated by Turkish government sources)

• Self-defense under Article 51. Ankara argues that DAESH attacks on Turkish soil and fire across the border gave it the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. It cites its notifications to the UN Security Council and statements by the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) and Presidency.
• Direct ground engagement. According to the MSB and the Presidency, Euphrates Shield was a TSK-led ground campaign that cleared Jarabulus and al-Bab. Ankara presents it as the only case of a NATO member's army engaging DAESH in direct, sustained ground combat.
• Two threats, one border. Ankara argues that the PYD/YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK/KCK, with shared leadership, cadres and ideology. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union. According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, counter-DAESH operations cannot be a justification for arming or legitimizing another terrorist structure.
• 'One state, one army.' Türkiye's declared aim is a unified Syria with a single national army and a single state authority, in which all armed groups come under state control. Ankara states that it respects Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• Legal and historical basis. Turkish officials cite the inherent right of self-defense in Article 51, the principle that states must not harbour terrorist groups, and Türkiye's 1,300 km (about 810 mi) border with Syria and Iraq as the basis of its 'neutralize threats at the source' doctrine. The wider doctrine is explained in True North: A Reader's Compass to Türkiye's Strategic Doctrine in Four Bearings.

Why Ankara says the counter-DAESH pretext was exploited

Turkish officials argue that the fight against DAESH became a vehicle for building PYD/YPG territorial control along Türkiye's border, supported by heavy weapons deliveries and political legitimacy. They also argue that this control came with demographic and governance costs for local Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens, and that it sharpened the PKK's capability against Türkiye. The US and its partners answer that the SDF was the most effective available ground partner against DAESH and that they have distinguished between the PKK and Syrian Kurdish forces. This is a genuine policy disagreement within NATO, and neither side's account is complete without the other's.

Source Comparison

Question	Turkish government sources	Coalition and Western official sources	Our assessment
Was Türkiye the only NATO member in ground combat vs DAESH?	Yes: Euphrates Shield was a direct, sustained TSK ground campaign.	The US, France and the UK state that personnel advise, accompany and provide artillery, mostly through partners.	True only if 'ground combat' means a national army's own maneuver offensive; not true if it includes any personnel in a ground role.
Scale of DAESH losses	Over 4,000 'neutralized' (Turkish government figure).	No comparable itemized public total for Euphrates Shield.	Unverified externally; treat as an official claim.
100,000 individuals blocked	Cited as a border-security result.	Not independently measured in coalition reporting.	Administrative figure; cannot be audited from open sources.
Role of the PYD/YPG	The Syrian branch of the PKK/KCK; a terrorist threat.	The SDF is a partner against DAESH; the PKK is a separate listed organization.	A real policy dispute between Ankara and several allies.
Purpose of Euphrates Shield	Counter-DAESH and counter-PYD/YPG border security under Article 51.	Often framed as aimed as much at limiting Kurdish gains as at DAESH.	Ankara's declared aims included both; the framing is contested.

International media coverage often presents Euphrates Shield mainly as an anti-Kurdish operation and frames the SDF as the decisive counter-DAESH force. Turkish official material stresses direct combat with DAESH and the safety of Türkiye's border. For other examples of the gap between external coverage and primary sources, see WorldPoliticsDaily: Fact Check: Claims About Türkiye in International Media.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• DAESH: the Arabic acronym for the group also called ISIS or ISIL, the term used in Turkish and many international official statements.
• PKK/KCK: the Kurdistan Workers' Party and its umbrella structure, designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union.
• PYD/YPG: the Democratic Union Party and its People's Protection Units, which Türkiye regards as the PKK's Syrian branch; the YPG forms the core of the SDF.
• SDF: Syrian Democratic Forces, the coalition's principal ground partner in eastern Syria.
• Article 51: the UN Charter provision recognizing a state's inherent right of individual and collective self-defense against an armed attack, subject to reporting to the Security Council.
• 'By, with and through': coalition shorthand for operations in which local forces lead ground combat while coalition personnel advise and enable.
• 'One state, one army': Türkiye's stated formula for Syria's future, with all armed forces under a single state command.

Related guides: Security Azimuth, True North: Türkiye's Strategic Doctrine, Editorial Principles, The Straits and Mediation Line and FAQ: Sources, Method and Perspective.

The Geopolitical Compass presents analysis from a Türkiye-informed perspective, arguing that Ankara's positions rest on treaty law, international legal norms and documented historical record. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaty texts, UN documents, official archives and legislation, so readers can verify them independently.

Published by The Geopolitical Compass Editorial Team.