Ankara, April 22 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged the US-led coalition to launch ground operations against the Islamic State (IS) along with the ongoing airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
“I don’t believe airstrikes are enough to combat IS in Syria and Iraq. Ground operations are a must along with airstrikes so that air operations can succeed,” the Turkish president said at a joint press conference with his visiting Iraqi counterpart Fuad Masum.
Erdogan pledged further support to Iraq in its struggle against IS, saying that Turkey has so far trained and equipped Iraqis, along with providing humanitarian aid, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We delivered 750 trucks of humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people. Turkey hosts around 300,000 Iraqis in camps. We also established three other camps in northern Iraq,” he said.
Erdogan said he discussed further support to Iraq during talks with the Iraqi president, stressing that a “comprehensive and global strategy” was necessary to fight the IS, deeming Sunni radical group a “virus” which could spread to other countries even if currently defeated in Iraq.
Iraqi President Masum expressed his expectations for bilateral ties between Ankara and Baghdad to “gain momentum”.
The IS poses a threat not just regionally, Masum said, noting that they have information that the militants were also operating in remote countries such as Canada.
