Turkey to hit Syria if threatened: Davutoglu

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says his country will not hesitate to attack Syria in case of any threats.

He made the comments in a live interview broadcast by TRT on Tuesday, saying that Ankara would respond by air and land to any threats arising from neighboring Syria.

Davutoglu, however, did not mention potential sources for such threats.

The Turkish premier stressed that the country must play a more significant role in the US-led coalition that is purportedly targeting the positions of Daesh Takfiri terror group in Syria and Iraq.

Since late September 2014, the US, along with some of its allies, has reportedly been conducting airstrikes against Daesh inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The airstrikes in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against alleged Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in August last year. Many have criticized the ineffectiveness of the raids.

The US and some of its regional allies, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have lent staunch support to the Takfiri groups fighting against Syria’s government.

Reforms in Turkey

Elsewhere in his remarks, Davutoglu said Turkey is planning to carry out major economic, social and judiciary reforms under a reform process in the next six months.

Pointing to the stalled peace talks between the Turkish government and Kurds, the prime minister said Turkey would not sacrifice its “struggle against terrorism” for the peace process.

Turkey has been engaged in one of its biggest military operations in the southern border region in the recent past. The Turkish military has been conducting offensives against alleged positions of the Daesh terrorists in northern Syria as well as those of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.

The operations began in the wake of a deadly July 20 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, where over 30 people died. The Turkish government blamed Daesh for the bombing.

Ankara’s military campaign against the PKK voided a shaky ceasefire declared in 2013.