Erdogan's claim of Western siding with IS not reasonable: US

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24) – A United States official on Thursday rejected Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s claim the West was on the side of the Islamic State (IS) as a part of a plot against Islam and Muslims.

During a daily press briefing, US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby said the Turkish President’s accusations did not “really merit” a response, in reply to a question by a Kurdistan24 reporter.

“The United States, in particular, has been at the leading edge here of countering terrorism around the world, and there’s a coalition now of some 67 entities, mostly countries, that are aligned against [IS],” added Kirby.

Turkey is a member of the International Coalition to counter IS.

Addressing the Pakistani Parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan declared armed Islamist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the IS were proxies in a war on Islam, without naming any western country behind them.

“We are the country that is struggling against the IS at home, in Syria as well as Iraq. We will keep on fighting with no loss of heart,” added Erdogan who restated IS was not “even remotely” close to Islam.

“In Islam, in our religion, no one has the right to kill or smite the neck of someone free from sin. These [IS militants] are doing this. Who are by their side?” he stated.

“The West is on the side of [IS]. We saw and determined that the weapons we captured from their hands are of Western origin,” continued Erdogan.

The Turkish President went on saying that as a result Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan were being divided.

Turkey has particularly been wary of the territorial expansion and rising political autonomy of the Kurds whose US-backed military forces have proven to be the most effective against IS in Syria and Iraq.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Laurie Mylroie contributed to this report from Washington, DC)