Turkish Foreign Minister Slams Anti-ISIL Coalition's 'Insufficient' Efforts

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the anti-terrorist coalition's efforts, created to combat Islamic State, are insufficient.

ANTALYA (Sputnik) — The US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group is not doing enough to eradicate the extremist organization, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.

"The anti-terrorist coalition's efforts, created to combat Islamic State, are insufficient. Unfortunately to date, there is no single coherent strategy to combat this group," Cavusoglu said at a press conference following the NATO Foreign Ministers" Session.

Turkey shares its southern border with Syria, portions of which are held by the IS. Hundreds of foreign nationals are known to have used the Turkish-Syrian border as a point of entry into Syria to join the IS.

The 62-nation coalition has been conducting airstrikes as part of Operation Inherent Resolve on IS targets in Syria and Iraq since late last summer. Earlier this year, the coalition helped Iraqi security forces recapture the city of Tikrit, some 111 miles north of Baghdad.

The jihadist group came to international attention in recent years, having captured vast parts of Syria in 2012 before expanding into Iraq in 2014. Several IS cells are known to operate in Libya, Yemen and other Middle Eastern and North African nations.

The IS has demonstrated its brutality through the numerous executions of foreign hostages, massacres of religious minorities and destruction of architectural artifacts. The ultimate aim of the IS, also referred to as ISIS or ISIL, is to establish an Islamic caliphate in areas under its control.

According to the US Department of Defense, the coalition's air campaign has caused the IS to lose of up to one-third of its territories, as of last month.