Turkey won’t tolerate terrorism: Defense minister

By Ramazan Turgut and Ahmed al-Masri

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

Turkey will never tolerate terrorist threats, Turkey's National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Sunday, vowing to continue taking all necessary measures against the PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist group.

Canikli’s remarks came during a meeting of the defense ministers of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

He said Muslims and Islamic countries suffer the most from instability and lack of security, citing Friday's deadly mosque attack in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula which left 305 people dead and scores injured.

“We strongly condemned this massacre that took place in Egypt,” Canikli said, stressing that attacking worshippers during weekly Friday prayers is “unimaginable.”

“Those murderers do not represent Islam, they are using those opportunities to cause turmoil in our societies,” he said, stressing that “unity” is the only way to combat terrorist groups.

Canikli said solving domestic issues would hinder terrorism from exploiting sectarian, political, and economic issues.

Continuing the solidarity theme, Canikli said: “Turkey hosts more than 2 million Syrians… and hosting them is based on the spirit of solidarity.”

“The spirit of solidarity should stretch across the whole Islamic world,” he said.