Turkish and US chiefs of staff have “confirmed” the need to fight terror groups in Syria and Iraq, including the Islamic State group (ISIS) fighters, the Turkish military said in a statement.
General Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, met his Turkish counterpart General Hulusi Akar on Friday at Incirlik air base, which is home to warplanes of the US-led coalition which is battling ISIS.
Turkey also carries out airstrikes against Kurdish militants’ bases in northern Iraq.
The military statement said Akar told Dunford that Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian fighters had “to a great extent” taken control of the ISIS-held Syrian town of al Bab.
It made no reference to a possible joint operation to retake the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, which Turkey’s defence minister said would be discussed.
(Reuters)
