Turkish troops crossed into northern Syria today, a day after Turkish air force jets pounded Kurdish targets in the Afrin region in a move that will further inflame the nearly 7-year-old Syrian conflict, deepen ethnic tensions between Arabs, Turks and Kurds and complicate the US-led battle against the Islamic State (IS).

The operation codenamed Olive Branch is serving as a balm for wounded Turkish pride, showing that Turkey can defend itself against its enemies even in the face of resistance from global powers, namely the United States. And if Turkey can extract itself with minimum casualties, the gambit will likely further consolidate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s march toward one-man rule.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the aim of the operation, which is being backed by rebels operating under the Free Syria Army umbrella, was to establish a 30-kilometer (19-mile) cordon deep inside Syria. Turkish troops have advanced some 5 kilometers (3 miles) into Syrian territory, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the target of the Turkish attacks, said at least four Turkish soldiers and 10 Syrian rebel fighters were killed in clashes this morning. Syrian Kurdish officials also said at least 7 civilians had died as a result of the Turkish bombing. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

Erdogan said the operation would be completed in a very short time and threatened to punish anyone who dared oppose it as citizens gathered in mosques across the country to pray for Operation Olive Branch’s success. Even as Erdogan delivered his threats, prosecutors in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir began investigating a pair of lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party for criticizing the Turkish incursion in their Twitter posts.