Ankara: Turkish President Recep Erdogan pledged on Sunday to fight all terrorist groups including the Islamic State (IS), the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) with its Syrian offshoots.
The Turkish army’s operation in Syria was aimed at giving people, who fled the IS-controlled areas, a chance to return home, Erdogan told a rally of his supporters in the Turkey’s Gaziantep province, Xinhua news agency reported.
He said the government “had enough” of recent mortar attacks targeting the Karkamis district of the border province of Kilis, which ultimately provoked the launch of the Euphrates Shield operation.
Last week, the Turkish army launched a cross-border operation with the help of the US-led coalition forces to drive out the IS terrorists from its border following the Gaziantep suicide attack that killed at least 55 persons and series of mortar attacks targeting the Karkamis district.
“People’s demand for the reintroduction of death penalty should be debated in parliament, I will sign it if it comes to me,” Erdogan added.
Meanwhile, Turkish forces killed 10 PKK militants in the Turkeys’ Hakkari province, the local media reported.
–IANS