Turkey on Friday said the rights of Qatar must be respected as it hosted the defence minister of Ankara’s main Gulf ally which has been left isolated by Saudi-led sanctions. Khaled bin Mohammed al-Attiyah met with Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik at the defence ministry in Ankara, the state-run news agency Anadolu said on Thursday. … Read more
The White House envoy coordinating the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group was holding talks in Ankara on Friday a day after visiting a Syrian Kurdish militia deemed by Turkey to be “terrorists”. The visit by Brett McGurk, which was not announced in advance, comes a month after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called … Read more
The defence minister of Qatar is to visit its ally Turkey on Friday, state media reported, as Ankara resists pressure to shutter a military base in the emirate’s unresolved row with Gulf neighbours. Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah will meet with Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik at the defence ministry in Ankara, the state-run news agency … Read more
Four Arab states have sent Qatar a list of 13 demands it must meet if it wants them to lift their sanctions. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are asking the Gulf state to shut down its broadcaster, Al Jazeera. They are also asking Qatar to reduce ties with Iran and close … Read more
US President Donald Trump has approved supplying weapons to Kurdish forces fighting so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria, the Pentagon says. Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would be equipped to help drive IS from its stronghold, Raqqa, a spokeswoman said. The US was “keenly aware” of Turkey’s concerns about such a move, … Read more
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel of using ‘Nazi measures’ as a war of words threatens to spiral out of control. In a speech broadcast on television yesterday Erdogan said: ‘When we call them Nazis they (Europe) get uncomfortable. They rally together in solidarity. Especially Merkel. ‘But you are right … Read more
Turkish-backed rebels seized two villages from US-supported forces on Wednesday as they sought to expand their control in northern Syria, rebels and a monitor said. The rebels advanced east from the town of Al-Bab, which they captured last week from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, into territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces. The … Read more
A suicide bomber attacked Turkish-backed rebels just outside the Syrian town of Al-Bab Friday, killing 42 people in a major blow just hours after they hailed its capture from ISIS. The bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives outside a rebel command centre in the village of Susian, five miles northeast of Al-Bab, the … Read more
A suicide bomber attacked Turkish-backed rebels just outside the Syrian town of Al-Bab Friday, killing 42 people in a major blow just hours after they hailed its capture from the Islamic State group. The bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives outside a rebel command centre in the village of Susian, eight kilometres (five … Read more
A suicide bomber killed 29 people, most of them rebels, on Friday near the Syrian town of Al-Bab, which they had taken from the Islamic State group just hours earlier, a monitor said. The bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives in Susian, eight kilometres (five miles) northeast of the strategic town which the … Read more
The Syrian town of Al-Bab was for three years a key jihadist stronghold in northern Syria, whose capture Ankara hopes will give Turkey greater influence over the postwar shape of the country. The town, whose name means “The Gate”, had an estimated prewar population of some 100,000 but was the target of an over three-month … Read more
Turkey said Wednesday fewer than 100 jihadists were still holed up in the flashpoint Islamic-State Syrian town of Al-Bab, as rebel commanders predicted its capture was imminent. The fight for Al-Bab has seen the bloodiest clashes of Ankara’s half-year campaign inside the conflict-torn country and its capture would be one of the most significant reverses … Read more
Turkey said Wednesday fewer than 100 Islamic State jihadists were still holed up in a flashpoint Syrian town which has seen the bloodiest clashes of Ankara’s half-year campaign inside the conflict-torn country. Speaking to NTV television, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said half of the town of Al-Bab was in the hands of Turkish troops and … Read more
Turkey has presented two plans to the US detailing how a joint operation could retake the IS de-facto capital of Raqa in northern Syria, a local newspaper reported Saturday. Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar set out Ankara’s proposals to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford during his visit … Read more
Leaders of the Islamic State group are leaving their Syrian stronghold of Raqa, fleeing in the face of the Arab-Kurd offensive backed by the international coalition, the US Defense Department said Friday. “We are starting to see now that a lot of senior ISIS leaders, a lot of their bureaucrats… are beginning the process of … Read more
Nine civilians were killed in overnight Turkish bombardment of a jihadist-held town in northern Syria, a monitor said on Friday, but Ankara said the shelling killed 13 “terrorists”. Three women were among those killed in the artillery fire on Al-Bab, which Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been fighting to take from the Islamic State group, the … Read more