Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday his country is gearing up to “clear” the Syrian side of its frontier in response to cross-border fire from ISIS, hours after around 30 militants were killed near the border. Erdogan said Turkish forces have killed some 3,000 Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, insisting that no other country has matched Turkey’s efforts against the extremist group.
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“We are making our necessary preparations to clean up across the border due to problems happening in [the southeastern border province of] Kilis”.
Intelligence reports had suggested the militants were preparing attacks, they said. “When this is the case, it’s a piece of black comedy that the European Union criticizes our country over the definition of terrorism”, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on Tuesday.
Erdogan complained that the US-led anti-IS coalition has not provided Turkey with the desired support, reported Xinhua news agency. The Turkish and coalition operations targeted an area about 10 km (6 miles) south of the border. Later that same day, two more rockets hit a historic mosque, located just 100 meters from the office of the governor of Kilis.
The president also added Turkey had the right to not care about those who disregarded Kilis and the Syrian city of Aleppo.
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But it has suffered several attacks blamed on the radical militant group, including two suicide bombings in Istanbul this year.
