Turkey to fight until all terrorists cleared: FM

BELGRADE, Serbia

Turkey will continue its fight until it clears out all terrorists wherever they are, just as it has done domestically, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday.

Cavusoglu's made the remarks after arriving in Montenegro's capital Podgorica for a two-day official visit.

"We had five martyrs today. I wish mercy from Allah to our martyrs and urgent healing to our wounded soldiers. We will continue our fight until we clean out all the terrorists, no matter where they are," he said.

At least five Turkish troops were martyred and five wounded in an attack earlier in the day by forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

Rifat Fejzic, president of the Islamic Union of Montenegro, emphasized Turkey's determination to root out terrorism.

"Turkey is about to get rid of the scourge of terrorism. In the past, these terrorists were in Turkey, but now they are nearly extinct. Turkey not only clears out the scourge of terrorism inside but also outside its territory. May Allah help them," said Fejzic.

He noted that Turkey is a very important country for Montenegro for the Muslims in the Balkans.

"We have a common history and religion. We are also very happy because of the very good relations between Turkey and Montenegro," said Fejzic.

He also wished God's mercy on the Turkish soldiers who were martyred in today's attack.

Meanwhile, a prayer was recited for the martyrs at the historical Nizam Mosque in the city of Tuzi during Cavusoglu’s visit.

The Turkish troops are in Idlib as part of an anti-terror and peace mission.

Idlib has been a stronghold of the opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Since then, however, more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by regime and Russian forces, flouting both the 2018 ceasefire and a new one that came into effect on Jan. 12.