Turkey may expand military operation in Syria, Iraq

By  Trend

Turkey may expand military operation’s scope in Syria and Iraq, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Turkiye newspaper reported on September 7.

The Turkish president said that the new military operation may start in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which is also the "capital" of the militants of the “Islamic State” (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh) terrorist group, according to the newspaper.

Erdogan said that Turkish Armed Forces may also participate in the operation for the liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Turkey has intelligence data that concentration of troops of militants is observed in northern Mosul, as well as in mainly ethnic Turkmen town of Telafer, and these militants plan to kill the Turkmens living in northern Iraq, which is unacceptable for Turkey, Erdogan added.

Being one of the key oil centers of Iraq, the city of Mosul went entirely under the control of the IS terrorists June 10, 2014.