Jarabulus offensive

PKK kidnaps four people in Turkey's southeast

Outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants kidnapped four people, including two civilians, in the southeastern province of Hakkari on Sept. 21, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Hakkari Governor Cüneyit Orhan Toprak confirmed that PKK militants intercepted a civilian vehicle near Doğanlı village in the province's Çukurca district.

Turkey will not deploy its own infantry in Syria, says defense minister

Turkey will not deploy its own infantry in Syria to retake the northern city of al-Bab from jihadists but it will use Ankara-backed Syrian rebels, Defense Minister Fikri Işık said Sept. 21. 

"Our current planning is that we will conduct the operation with fighters of the Free Syrian Army [FSA]. Thus, we do not plan to join this operation with our own infantries," Işık said. 

US should 'not harbor a terrorist like' Gülen, Erdoğan says

The United States should "not harbor a terrorist" like the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is believed to have orchestrated the failed coup attempt of July 15, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Reuters in an interview on Sept. 19, adding that his activities should be banned around the world. 

Running away not a solution to terror: Turkish PM

Fear is not the correct response to terrorism, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Sept. 20 while addressing the 26th Universal Postal Congress in Istanbul. 

"You cannot be safe by running away from terrorism. You cannot get rid of it by fearing it. No spot in the world is safe," the prime minister said.  

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