News Digest

Kerry urges Turkey to join fight against Islamic State

The U.S. has pressed Turkey to support military action against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a day after Ankara said it would not allow its air bases to be used for combat operations. The U.S. secretary of state John Kerry arrived in the Turkish capital on Friday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, to win support for armed operations. Turkey will continue to share intelligence the US, give logistical support to Syrian opposition groups and humanitarian aid to victims of the war, according to a statement issued by the president’s office.

The two countries will continue to fight against the terrorist organisations in the regions.

President Recep Tayyip’s office in a statement

Turkey didn’t sign a communiqué pledging support during a meeting Thursday in Saudi Arabia in which regional leaders committed to help cut off the flow of foreign fighters and funds into Islamic State, and has remained wary of plans for military action in Syria. The biggest obstacle to an overt role of Turkey, the biggest Muslim member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is 49 Turkish diplomats, including a consul general, staff and family members, captured by Islamic State militants in June. They are being held by the extremist group after it captured Mosul and stormed Turkey’s consulate.