Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.6
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Ankara makes no difference between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants and the IS (the Islamic State group aka ISIS aka ISIL) , Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said Oct.6, the Turkish TV channel Haber7 reported.
The activities of the two organizations is a threat to people's lives, the minister said.
Earlier, the Turkish parliament gave permission for the country's armed forces to participate in the military operations abroad, according to the minister. Some 298 deputies voted for this decision of 396, and 98 deputies voted against it.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (NMP) of Turkey voted in support of it. This decision was also supported by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier, the Republican People's Party and the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party of Turkey said that they wouldn't support this initiative.
Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview with "A Haber" that Turkey would do anything possible in order to protect Cobani town in Syria, which is populated by Kurds, against militants of the "Islamic State" terrorist organization.
The state intends to take advantage of the mandate approved by the country's parliament that allows the participation of the Turkish armed forces in military operations in Syria and Iraq, he said.
The terrorist organization known as the 'Islamic State' (IS, formerly ISIL or ISIS) was created in 2003 in Iraq. Between 2004 and 2006, the organization was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and consisted of 11 radical Islamist groups, which had close ties to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Following the start of military confrontation in Syria in 2013 between the armed opposition and the government forces, the IS penetrated the country. IS said at the time it refuses to take the oath of Al-Qaeda and declared 'a holy war' against all groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Syrian government forces.
Strengthening of the IS in Syria allowed it to return to Iraq, deploying military actions against government forces there.
In late June of 2014, the IS announced about the creation of the 'Islamic Caliphate' on the territories under its control in Iraq and Syria. In turn, Iraqi authorities asked the international community for help in fighting the IS.