When Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24, two objectives were declared: to distance the Islamic State (IS) from the Turkish border, and to prevent the Kurds who had crossed to the west of the Euphrates River, despite Turkey’s stated red lines, from connecting with Afrin.

Other goals that were not declared but could be read between the lines were to rescue the armed opposition groups supported by Turkey squeezed in Aleppo, to provide them with a protected zone and to prevent refugees in that zone from crossing into Turkey. Ankara was determined to block the Kurdish advances from east to west both in the south and in the north, then to enter al-Bab and put together an alternative force that might persuade the United States to terminate its partnership with the Kurds for the Raqqa operation.

But the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) — which did not encounter strong IS resistance while capturing Jarablus, al-Rai and Dabik — began to sustain heavy casualties once it approached al-Bab.

A total of 38 TSK soldiers have been killed during the operation, including 16 on Dec. 21 alone. In addition, a video recording appeared last week on social media of two abducted Turkish soldiers being burned alive by IS. Turkish officials only said, ‘‘We are investigating,” while the government kept totally silent. All the government did was to curtail social media to prevent the discussion of the IS claim.