Turkish air strikes 'changing regional game'

Ahmet Davutoglu said there were no plans to send ground troops into Syria and that air strikes were meant to support moderate rebels fighting IS.

On Sunday Turkish jets again attacked PKK camps in northern Iraq.

Nato is to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation on Tuesday, at Turkey's request.

Mr Davutoglu told a meeting of Turkish newspaper editors that, following Turkey's military action, there were now "new conditions" in the regional conflict.

"The presence of a Turkey that can use its force effectively can lead to consequences which can change the game in Syria, Iraq and the entire region; everyone should see that," the Hurriyet Daily News quoted him as saying.

He said other states now needed to "assess... and review their own position accordingly".

Mr Davutoglu said Turkey was prepared to work with the Syrian Kurdish PYD group - which has links to the PKK - provided it did not pose a threat to Turkey and severed relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey launched air strikes against IS targets in Syria and against PKK camps in northern Iraq following recent attacks.

In a suicide attack blamed on IS, 32 people died in in the Kurdish-majority city of Suruc near the Syrian border on 20 July.

In the wake of the bombing, the PKK killed Turkish police in retaliation for what it saw as Turkey's collaboration with IS.

However, the raids against the PKK in northern Iraq effectively ended a two-year ceasefire.

Turkish jets were again in action over northern Iraq on Sunday, and a PKK spokesman told AFP news agency that two positions north of Dohuk and north of Irbil had been hit.

Earlier, a car bomb hit a Turkish military vehicle on a highway near Diyarbakir in south-east Turkey, the army said.

Kurdish militants then opened fire on the vehicle killing two soldiers and wounding four others, it added.

In recent days, Turkey has also arrested hundreds of people suspected of supporting IS or the PKK.

Police raids in the city of Istanbul have triggered three days of rioting in the Gazi district. At least one activist and a policeman have been killed.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told BBC World TV the Turkish request was based on Article 4 of the Nato Treaty which allows members to request such a meeting if their territorial integrity or security is threatened.

"When Turkey requests for such a meeting I think it's very right and very timely to have a meeting where we address the turmoil and the instability we see in Syria, Iraq and surrounding and close to Nato borders of Turkey," he said.

Mr Stoltenberg said he had spoken to Mr Davutoglu two days ago, expressing condolences for the loss of life and giving backing to Turkey's actions against IS.

The US has called on both Turkey and the PKK to avoid violence, but said Turkey had the right to defend itself against attacks by Kurdish rebels.

(BBC)