As Trump praises Erdogan, Turkey says ready to take control of ISIS prisons in Syria
ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey was ready to take control of the camps that host detainees of the Islamic State members and affiliates of the group as he reiterated his country’s demand that Washington axe its alliance with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Roughly a dozen ISIS prisons in northern Syria are located in areas controlled by the US-allied SDF, which Ankara deems a top national security threat, equating it with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants fighting for self-rule inside Turkey since 1984. While the PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union, the SDF remains the top ally of Washington in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
Fidan argued that the SDF's contribution to the war against ISIS was limited to managing the prisons where members of the Salafi jihadist group and their affiliates are held.
“In fact, our president has also given the instruction that if others cannot........
© Al Monitor
