Turkey Needs Help to Combat Foreign Fighters on Border - US State Dep't

Turkey needs help from other countries to secure its border against the infiltration of Islamic State militants in and out of Syria, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL (Islamic State) John Allen said in a press release on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — “While Turkey’s 900 kilometer border with Syria is the main point of entry to the battle space, the burden of meeting the foreign fighter threat clearly cannot rest with the Turks alone,” Allen said in the release.

The United States is leading a coalition of the European Union and 60 countries to counter the extremist militant group Islamic State.

Allen explained that the Turkish border with Syria is the last line of defense in fighting ISIL. He stressed that members of the coalition need to take more aggressive measures in reducing foreign terrorist fighters flow as a “strategic defense in-depth…starting at the point of radicalization.”

At least 12 countries have joined US-led air campaigns against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, while several others have sent arms and ammunition to Iraq without taking part in military actions.

On Tuesday, the US-led coalition against ISIL conducted 15 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq resulting in the destruction of the terrorist group’s infrastructure and denying its tactical advantage, according to US Central Command.