Turkey on Friday insisted its military will keep up the fight against ISIS jehadis and other militants after the failed coup, saying the armed forces would emerge stronger from a purge of its top ranks.
A senior US military commander had been quoted by American media as saying that the turmoil in post-coup Turkey could affect its role in the US-led coalition fighting ISIS jehadis in Syria.
But Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara that he found such statements “ridiculous” and “unfortunate”.
Turkish forces face the challenge of fighting both IS jehadis and guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Cavusoglu said making the military’s capacity to fight such groups an issue in the wake of the coup “stemmed from a lack of knowledge and ignorance, if there is no ill intention”.
Turkey has embarked on a major military reshuffle after the putsch, which Ankara blames on US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and his followers.