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Turkey vows to use "all alternatives" to fight IS along borders

Xinhua, May 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

No other country is fighting against the Islamic State (IS) as Turkey is, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

"No other country has more casualties to Daesh (IS in Arabic) than Turkey," Erdogan said in a televised speech at the 10th meeting of the General Staffs of the Balkan countries.

The Turkish president claimed that other countries from an anti-IS coalition did not take any steps including necessary intelligence-sharing to fight the group.

"Turkey is expected to take all necessary measures on its own," he said, noting that Turkish security forces have killed up to 3,000 IS militants in Syria and in Iraq alone.

The president rejected as "unfair, relentless and baseless" claims made by some countries about Turkey offering support to the IS.

"The portrayal of Turkey as a country that helps Daesh -- excuse me if this will sound harsh -- is despicable," he said, adding that Ankara knows which Western countries have contributed to IS weapons inventory.

A team of Turkish special forces reportedly conducted operations in IS-held areas in northern Syria on May 7 to destroy missile launchers.

Turkey's border province of Kilis has come under rocket attacks from northern Syria since mid-January, in which 20 people were killed and 70 others injured.

In addition, the IS has been blamed for some deadly bombing attacks in Turkey in recent months.

Addressing an event in Ankara, the national capital, on Tuesday, Erdogan vowed to use "all alternatives" to fight the IS along Turkey's border. Endit