Davutoglu says Turkey will avoid direct combat in Iraq

Turkey is willing to support a possible operation to reclaim Mosul from Islamic State, but it will avoid any direct combat unless it is attacked on its own soil, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. 

"We would support Mosul, but we will not engage in direct combat. We will only respond if there is a direct attack on Turkey. We possess both the potential and the might for that," Haberturk cited him as saying. 

The head of government noted that Ankara attaches great importance to the normalization of the situation in Iraq. "We are in very close contact with the central government of Iraq and provide them with various kinds of assistance. We are also concerned about security in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq," Davutoglu said. 

"For us it is important what will happen after the withdrawal of IS. The regime of Bashar al-Assad should not move on to the vacated territory," TASS cited Davutoglu.