Turkey will give full support to operation to retake Syria's Jarablus from Islamic State: Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

A Turkish army tank and an armored vehicle are stationed near the border with Syria, in Karkamis, Turkey.

Ankara: Turkey will give full support to an operation to take the Syrian border town of Jarablus from Islamic State, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, after Syrian rebels said they were preparing an assault from Turkish soil.

The operation is important for Turkey`s security, Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara. Turkey does not want to see the Kurdish YPG militia, which already controls swathes of northern Syria, capture the strategic border town.

Cavusoglu also said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the YPG and Islamic State had ramped up attacks on Turkey since a failed coup attempt on July 15. More than 330 foreign ministry staff have been recalled or suspended since the abortive putsch, and 31 are still being sought, he also said.