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U.S. embassy in Turkey denies accusation of backing terrorist groups

Xinhua, December 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United States embassy in Ankara has denied accusations that the U.S. supported terrorist groups fighting in Syria, the embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has evidence that U.S.-led coalition forces have given support to terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (IS) and Syrian Kurdish forces.

"The United States government is not supporting DAESH. The USG did not create or support DAESH in the past. Assertions the United States government is supporting DAESH are not true," said the statement, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.

Turkish President Erdogan said at a press conference on Tuesday that Turkey in the past was accused of supporting IS. "They (anti-IS coalition forces) were accusing us of supporting Daesh," he said.

"Now they've all vanished and they're giving support to terrorist groups including Daesh, YPG and the PYD. It's very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos," he added.

The embassy statement denied the accusations.

"The United States government has not provided weapons or explosives to the YPG or the PKK. We repeatedly have condemned PKK terrorist attacks and the group's reprehensible violence in Turkey," the statement added.

The statement said the U.S. is cooperating with Turkey in the operations against IS.

"Like Turkey, the United States also has experienced attacks by IS supporters. We mourn the losses that the Turkish Republic has suffered in facing this and other threats from terrorism," the statement added. Endit