Ankara is carrying out an intensive effort to prepare for a military operation in Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday. This is Ankara’s first official statement after the US announced the decision to withdraw troops from Syria. “Now we are facing Manbij and the east of the Euphrates. We are conducting an intense work on this issue,” NTV channel quoted the minister as saying. Akar also commented on Turkey’s airstrikes on the northern areas of Iraq, saying that these were pinpoint strikes in order “to minimize damage for the population,” TASS reports.