ANKARA
Turkey and the U.S. have begun discussions on the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in the headquarters of the Turkish General Staff.
The two-day talks began on Wednesday after a U.S. military unit arrived in Ankara the night before.
The U.S. is leading an international coalition against ISIL, using air strikes to target their positions in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey’s parliament ratified a motion on October 2 authorizing government and the country's armed forces to deploy troops to Syria and Iraq, if necessary, to fight any group threatening the country.
Turkey has been pushing for a no-fly zone and a safe haven in Syria near the Turkish border for Syrian refugees as thousands of civilians from the Syrian-Kurdish town of Kobani continue to flee into Turkey to seek refuge from relentless ISIL attacks.
More than 180,000 Kurdish refugees from Kobani have crossed into Turkey since Ankara opened the border crossing on September 19 after ISIL militants launched an offensive on the Kurdish-populated town.
The Iraqi army has been engaged in severe fighting with ISIL militants since the extremist group took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, in addition to other large swathes of the country in mid-June.
According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 24,015 civilians have been killed or injured in Iraq during the first eight months of 2014.
ISIL violence has also caused 1.2 million Iraqis - including Turkmen, Arabs, Christians and Ezidis - to flee their homes.
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