Turkish news media reported early Sunday morning that the Turkish Army evacuated soldiers from Syria and moved the tomb they had been guarding, according to The New York Times.
The Turkish soldiers had been guarding the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. In a treaty signed in 1921 by France and Turkey, the 8,000 square meters around and including the tomb would belong to Turkey, despite the land being in Syria.
Syria has been infested with Islamic State terrorists and in recent months, the extremist group surrounded the tomb that had been protected by 40 Turkish soldiers, according to CNN Turk. During operation "Sah Firat," Turkish military moved the tomb over the border before destroying the site to keep the militants from using the enclave.
One Turkish soldier died during the mission.
Sah Firat began on Saturday when Turkey moved 100 military vehicles, including 39 tanks and other heavy artillery through Kobani, the Kurdish territory in Syria that had recently been purged of Islamic State control by YPG and American-led forces.
