President Erdogan repeats vow to combat terrorism

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Turkey's first ever floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in the Aliaga district of the western Izmir province, Erdogan spoke about the recent development in Syria.

“Al-Bab is almost free, our armed forces together with the FSA will take the region soon," he said. “We will fight terrorism not only at home, but abroad also."

He went on to say Turkey was maintaining diplomatic ties with Russia, the U.S., Iran and Iraq as well as the Gulf countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“We are coordinating with coalition forces,” he added.

Drawing on recent terror attacks in Turkey, Erdogan added: “Recent attacks target [our] stability and secured environment. We will not be deceived by those trying to limit Turkey through instability and insecurity, by diverting Turkey’s focus away from investment, development and progress. We know their games.”

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along Turkey’s border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

As of Thursday, the Turkish defense minister said over 1,000 Daesh terrorists have been killed since the beginning of the Euphrates Shield operation.

Anadolu Agency