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TERROR WARS
Turkey wary of military intervention against IS
by Staff Writers
Istanbul (AFP) Oct 06, 2014


Foreign jihadists traded for Turkish hostages: reports
London (AFP) Oct 06, 2014 - British media on Monday reported that Turkish hostages freed by the Islamic State group last month may have been released as part of a prisoner exchange for up to 180 jihadist fighters.

The Times newspaper cited a list it had received saying that among the fighters were three French nationals, two British, two Swedes, two Macedonians, one Swiss and one Belgian.

It said the list had been confirmed by its IS sources.

The BBC cited a Whitehall source saying the report was "credible".

The Times report named the two British nationals as 18-year-old Shabazz Suleman and 26-year-old Hisham Folkard.

It did not say how the men had come into Turkish custody.

The report cited a spokesman for a group involved in the deal saying the exchange also included relatives of Abu Bakr al-Iraqi, a senior IS member killed by Syrian rebels in January.

Dozens of Turkish consular officials and their families along with special forces officers seized when the IS group overran the Iraqi city of Mosul were released.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no money had exchanged hands and that there had been "only diplomatic and political negotiations".

Asked whether hostages had been released in exchange for IS militants, Erdogan said: "It doesn't matter whether there was a swap or not. The most important thing is they (the hostages) are back and reunited with their families."

IS has declared an Islamic "caliphate" across parts of northern Iraq and Syria, committing widespread atrocities and instituting a brutal interpretation of Islamic law.

The group has beheaded two US journalists and two British aid workers in the past few weeks in a gruesome retaliation against the US-led international coalition which is carrying out air strikes on their positions in Iraq and Syria.

NATO says will protect Turkey from IS 'spillover'
Warsaw (AFP) Oct 06, 2014 - The new head of NATO said Monday it would protect member Turkey against attacks from the jihadist Islamic State group, which is fighting to capture territory in Iraq and Syria near the Turkish border.

"Turkey is a NATO ally and our main responsibility is to protect the integrity, the borders of Turkey," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters.

"We have deployed Patriot missiles in Turkey, to enhance, to strengthen the air defence of Turkey. And Turkey should know that NATO will be there if there is any spillover, any attacks on Turkey as a consequence of the violence we see in Syria."

Stoltenberg spoke after meeting with Poland's defence and foreign ministers in Warsaw, his first foreign visit since taking office last week.

He will also visit Turkey, which is struggling to cope with the spillover from the Syrian and Iraq conflicts.

"I would also like to welcome the actions taken by the United States, of the NATO allies and regional partners to fight ISIL," he said, referring to air strikes targeting IS in Syria and Iraq.

Turkish lawmakers last week authorised the government to join the campaign against IS, but so far no military plans have been announced.

IS, an extremist Sunni Muslim group, has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, where it has been accused of carrying out widespread atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, torture and forcing women into slavery.

IS militants on Monday attempted again to storm the key Syrian town of Kobane on the Turkish border but Kurdish fighters fought off the fresh assault.

IS began its advance on Kobane on September 16, seeking to cement its grip over a long stretch of the Syria-Turkey border.

The offensive prompted a mass exodus from the town and surrounding countryside, with some 186,000 people fleeing into Turkey.

The Turkish government last week won parliamentary authorisation to send its armed forces into Syria to fight jihadists but imminent action is unlikely as it sets the West tough conditions for military cooperation.

Islamic State (IS) jihadists have advanced to the Syrian town of Kobane, just a few kilometres from the Turkish border yet still NATO member Ankara appears in no hurry to use force.

These are the main questions over why Turkish policy is so cautious, even as IS flags planted around Kobane are so close as to be visible from the other side of the border:

WHY IS TURKEY TAKING NO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IS?

Turkey previously justified its low-key role by pointing to its concerns for Turkish hostages held by IS militants. But those hostages were freed last month, freeing Turkey's hands.

The Turkish parliament last week authorised the government to take military action against the IS extremists but so far no plans to carry out military operations have been announced, despite a build-up of Turkish forces on the border.

Ilter Turan, professor of political science at Istanbul's Bilgi University, said Turkey feared possible attacks by jihadists inside the country in retaliation for coalition airstrikes.

Any attack on the group led by Ankara would "significantly" bolster support for the jihadists in Turkey, Turan said.

WHAT IS TURKEY SEEKING FROM THE WEST?

Turkey is wary that military action around Kobane could bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and strengthen Kurdish militants linked to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a 30-year insurgency for self-rule.

NATO-member Turkey has for years pressed for the ousting of Assad and wants the removal of Assad to remain a clear goal amid the battle against the IS.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also asked the US-led coalition to establish a safe zone inside Syria to host refugees and ensure Turkey's security, an idea that may only be enforceable with foreign ground troops.

"Dropping tons of bombs from the air is only a temporary solution," Erdogan told parliament on October 1.

WHY IS TURKEY SO WORRIED ABOUT KURDISH FIGHTERS?

Some might think that Ankara would want to aid the People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters battling IS and give them the upper had in the battle.

But mindful of its own Kurdish minority, Ankara is worried a military intervention on its border could bolster the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is fighting for greater rights and autonomy in Turkey's southeast.

Kurds accuse the government of turning a blind eye to IS and refusing to allow Turkish Kurds to cross the border and fight in Syria.

Ankara also believes that the Syrian Kurds have ambiguous relations with Assad and should come out in clear opposition to him. This message was reportedly relayed this week to Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim on a rare visit to Ankara.

"Right now Ankara is worried about everything that comes from Kobane: Mortar shells landing on its soil, Kurdish fighters taken to Turkish hospital, PKK fighters disguised as refugees. It's a nightmare for Turkey," Turan said.

DOES TURKEY HAVE CONTACTS WITH IS?

Last week Taraf daily reported that the 49 hostages held by IS had been released in exchange for 180 jihadists, including militants held in Turkey.

Despite objections from the US, Turkey agreed to a swap deal. According to The Times of London three French nationals, two British, two Swedes, two Macedonians, one Swiss and one Belgian were among the jihadists released.

Erdogan acknowledged that Ankara had held "diplomatic and political" negotiations with the IS and no money had exchanged hands.

But Ankara bitterly rejects suggestions -- most recently floated by US Vice President Joe Biden -- that its policies helped encourage the rise of IS. The government insists it abhors terrorism in all forms.

WHAT COULD PROMPT A TURKISH MILITARY INTERVENTION?

The advance of IS militants in northern Syria towards the Turkish border stirred fears that a sovereign Turkish exclave inside Syrian territory might be their next target.

Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey would strike back if the jihadists attacked Turkish troops stationed at the tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman dynasty Osman I. The land is considered Turkish territory under a 1920s treaty.

Turan said Turkey would most likely take action to defend its territory, but neither IS nor the Syrian regime had a "vested interest" in confronting the Turkish army -- a force second only to the United States in the NATO alliance.

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