Turkish official says Turkey, US agree to Syria ‘safe zone — CNN Turk

A new Islamic State video is taking aim at Turkey, issuing a call to arms to “conquer Istanbul”.

The video, which was released Monday by Islamic State’s media office in the Syrian city of Raqqah, has raised alarm in neighboring Turkey, where many suspect the existence of sleeper cells in southern cities such as Gaziantep and Kilis.

The U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State is disorganized and suffers “from a lack of coherence”, crippling efforts to defeat the terrorist group, according to a new federal report.

On August. 9, six U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft and about 300 personnel arrived at Incirlik Air Base to support Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said this week. We know that in the growing mess of Turkey, an immediate and unilateral cease-fire by the PKK should be the utmost priority. A senior medical worker told Amnesty global that they have a desperate shortage of intensive care equipment, of blood bags, of liquids, antibiotics, anesthetics and staff. “Most operations are carried out by students”, he said.

Turkey has been in a heightened state of alert since launching a “synchronized war on terror” last month, which included air strikes against ISIL fighters in Syria and the opening of its air bases to U.S.-led coalition forces.

The shift follows months of wrangling between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies over the strategy for dealing with Islamic State.

The seizures come as Turkey’s role in the battle against the Islamic State group, which controls large swathes of neighboring Syria and Iraq, has changed considerably in recent weeks following a deadly bombing in mid-July in Suruc, a town in eastern Turkey, that was blamed on militants from the group. Last week, they flew their first sorties in Syria – a fact that the Turkish-speaking militant in the video notes with anger.

“Turkish people: without losing any time you have to rebel against these atheists, crusaders and infidels who have made you slaves”, he said, as two other armed and bearded men, their heads covered with turbans, sat silently beside him.

Despite these steps, however, Kurds have continued to accuse Ankara of colluding with Islamic State to thwart the establishment of an independent Kurdish state across the border in Syria – charges denied by Turkey.

Turkey says it wants to create a “safe zone” in northern Syria, a move the U.S. has stopped short of endorsing even as it’s pushed for greater Turkish cooperation.