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Showing posts from September 8, 2016

Islamic State group: Turkey and US 'ready to invade capital'

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested he and the US are ready to drive so-called Islamic State (IS) from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa. Mr Erdogan said US President Barack Obama floated the idea of joint action against the militants when they met at the G20 summit in China. He said Turkey would have "no problem" with such action. Last month Turkey launched an operation inside Syria, targeting both IS and Kurdish rebels. The US State Department would not confirm the details of Mr Erdogan's statement, but an official said it was important that "local forces" were involved in the fight to deliver "a lasting defeat" to IS. "The actions that Turkey is currently taking along its border with Syria, with US support, is having the important effect of isolating Raqqa," the official said. "That is a critical step in our ultimate objective to liberate Raqqa from Isil (IS) control." Turkish-backed militia have driven IS from