Hulusi Akar

Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar visited the southeastern province of Kilis on the border with Syria on Nov. 23.

After landing at Gaziantep Airport in the early hours of the morning, Akar, accompanied by Land Forces Commander Gen. Salih Zeki Çolak, headed to Kilis by helicopter.

A U.S. official, appointed to coordinate between Turkey and the U.S. for their operations in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has come to Ankara for an official visit, private broadcaster CNN Türk reported on Nov. 20.

Turkey's top soldier and technology minister got engaged in a row with an Armenian lawmaker on Nov. 20 during the 62nd NATO Parliamentary Assembly Annual Session held in Istanbul.

Turkish warplanes hit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets to the west of Syria's Salva town late on Nov. 11, resuming flights in Syrian airspace after more than two weeks of suspension. 

Eighteen members of ISIL were killed in strikes targeting two buildings, two command centers and a vehicle of the group, according to security sources who asked to remain anonymous. 

Outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants have killed a total of 1,017 people in a number of attacks since a government-initiated peace process ended in July 2015 following a two-and-a-half-year cease-fire, according to information compiled by the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Turkey and the U.S. agreed during a meeting in Ankara on Nov. 6 to work together on the Raqqa operation, in order to take the town that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been using as its headquarters in Syria, Turkish and American sources said on Nov. 7.

A rift between Turkey and the U.S. over which local forces will take part in liberating Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) continues to rumble on, even after the top soldiers of the NATO allies held a lengthy meeting in Ankara on Nov. 6. 

Turkey has reiterated its readiness to push Syrian Kurds out of the Manbij area in northern Syria. 

The United States' top soldier, Gen. Joseph Dunford, and Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar discussed joint strategies against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a surprise visit by the former to Ankara on Nov. 6, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said in a statement.

On the one hand, more details are emerging in the ongoing investigation about the bloody military coup attempt of July 15 that are increasing the reaction among Turkish people.

Turkey's top soldier and intelligence chief have discussed the current situation in Syria with the Russian chief of staff in Moscow, the Turkish army said on Nov. 2.