The National quotes Vice President and Rafik Hariri Center Director Francis J. Ricciardone on Turkey expanding its cross-border strikes against ISIS in Syria to include Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq:
Along with the start of strikes against ISIS and allowing the use of Turkish airbases to strike the group in Syria, officials said on Saturday that there were plans in the coming months to create an “ISIS-free zone” in Syria along the last 95km stretch of border controlled by the group.
These new steps show that “the Turkish republic is pretty much all-in versus ISIS,” said Francis Ricciardone, a former US ambassador to Turkey.
This has not convinced the Kurds, who condemned recent anti-terror raids for targeting their community as well as ISIS members.