Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is willing to work with the US on a combined operation in Raqqa, the Islamic State group’s de facto capital in Syria.
Mr Erdogan reportedly said US President Barack Obama proposed the idea at the G20 summit in China.
Turkey’s leader suggested military officials from the two countries meet to discuss the idea.
US officials have previously welcomed Turkish efforts to dislodge Islamic State, but voiced concern when Turkish troops engaged fighters aligned with the Kurdish YPG militia, a force Washington sees as a valuable ally in battling jihadists.
Meanwhile, Turkey-backed forces may go deeper into Syria after securing a 90-kilometre stretch of land along the Turkish border, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara after a cabinet meeting, Mr Canikli also said a total of 110 Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters have been killed since Turkey began its military campaign in Syria on August 24.
The campaign, called “Euphrates Shield”, has seen Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies sweep Islamic State from Turkey’s border.
Hundreds of civilians have also begun returning to the border town of Jarabulus in northern Syria, two weeks after pro-Ankara fighters recaptured it from Islamic State jihadists.
ABC/Reuters
