Turkey and Iraq pledge mutual support to fight ISIS


Turkey and Iraq have reiterated support for each other in the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group.The call for mutual support was made in a telephone call between the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, Kurdistan Regional Government's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari.According to diplomatic sources, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey has always stood with the Iraqi people in their fight against the ISIS terrorists.He also called for the restructuring of the Iraqi security forces.The Turkish foreign minister said Turkey was ready to support Iraqi security forces with training and equipment.Barzani and Jafari expressed their gratitude for the Turkish offer.Relations between Turkey and the central government in Iraq have been sour in recent years because of political differences. Baghdad's anger was particularly visible when it was left out of an energy cooperation deal between Ankara and the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq.With a new government in place in Baghdad, Iraq is now reaching out to its neighboring countries, while at the same time fighting alongside an international coalition against the ISIS terrorists.Turkey recently allowed Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces to cross into the Syrian town of Kobani through its borders to boost the forces already present there battling the ISIS terrorists.