ANKARA: Turkish air force jets joined in the air operation backing Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga to retake Iraq’s second city of Mosul from jihadists, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday.

“Our air forces took part in the coalition forces’ air operations in Mosul,” Yildirim told his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group in Ankara.

The long-awaited offensive began on Monday with air and ground support from a US-led coalition. Yildirim said Turkey was “closely-watching” what was happening but did not give details on the nature of the Turkish air support.Yildirim repeated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments from Monday that Turkey would be involved in the operation and will be “at the table”.

While insisting it cannot be left out of the operation, Turkey has often spoken of its fears over the potential involvement of Shia militias and anti-Ankara Kurdish militia.

Yildirim told his MPs that Turkey continuously cautioned the United States and the European Union about the region’s sensitivities.

“We frequently warned about the ethnic sensitivities of the region and indicated the sectarian sensitivities,” Yildirim said.

Published in Dawn October 19th, 2016