Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that it is unacceptable to associate Islam with terrorist groups.

In a meeting held in the United States with top generals from 73 other countries, Akar touched on the country's contribution to regional stability and need for joint efforts against attempts to associate Islam with terrorist groups. Akar's comments were supported by many top generals that attended the meeting, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

The military chiefs of 73 countries, including U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford attended an international meeting at Fort Belvoir military base in Virginia called Counter-Violent Extremist Organization Conference, which was organized by NATO and hosted by the U.S. Department of Defense late Sunday.

He also spoke to his counterparts regarding the fight against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and said the terrorist group attempted to put Turkey's national security in danger. Akar requested support for Turkey's fight against FETÖ just as the countries represented at the meeting support the country against Daesh.

Gen. Dunford drew attention after the meeting to the importance of reliable Islamic voices in the course of defeating Daesh's ideology.

"Clearly, credible Islamic voices are going to be the ones that matter most in countering the narrative of Daesh, and countering it and discrediting it for what it is," he said.

Daesh suffered major blows in Iraq and Syria as the terrorist group lost almost all of its strongholds and key cities including Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Mosul this year. Also, earlier this month, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the last pocket of Marawi, a southern city that had been held by Daesh since May, liberated from the "terrorist influence."