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Turkey says it is ready to launch an air and ground assault against Kurdish forces which it labels as terrorists in northeast Syria.

Meanwhile, the US has been withdrawing troops, which had been working alongside the Kurds, from the area.
The Kurdish forces were key US allies in defeating the so-called Islamic State in Syria.

Azad Kudi is a Kurdish sniper who was deployed to the northern Syrian city of Kobani when it was besieged by the IS militants in 2014. In his memoirs, “Long Shot: My Life As a Sniper" – he tells of shooting dead some 250 Islamic State fighters.

He spoke to Newsday’s Lawrence Pollard about the current situation.

(Photo: A Turkish army tank is transported towards the border with Syria. Credit: AFP)