“Turkey’s idea on a Raqqa operation is clear. We are for [an operation] in Raqqa to be made consisting of the people of Raqqa. It is our opinion that it will be the correct thing to conduct [the Raqqa operation] – both militarily and strategically – after the Mosul and Euphrates Shield operations end” he said.
Kurtulmuş made the comments after a cabinet meeting that was convened under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at his palace in Ankara.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Oct. 25 that an attack on Raqqa would start while the battle of Mosul in neighboring Iraq was still unfolding.
Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters started the offensive on Iraq’s Mosul on Oct. 17, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition against the hardline Sunni group of IS.