Soldiers stand guard as Syrian Kurdish refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey. (Reuters)
Ankara:
Turkey's government said Monday it was likely to submit motions to parliament within 24 hours requesting extended mandates for military action in Iraq and Syria, so Ankara can join the coalition against Islamic State militants.
"The motions have not yet been sent to parliament. They may come tomorrow," parliamentary speaker Cemil Cicek was quoted as saying by NTV television.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the motions will be debated on Thursday.
Turkey refused to join a broad coalition led by the United States to defeat the jihadist fighters while dozens of its citizens including diplomats and children were being held by IS militants having been abducted from the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
After securing their freedom in a top-secret operation which reportedly resulted in the release of 50 IS fighters, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's position had changed, signalling a more robust stance towards the group.
"We will hold discussions with our relevent institutions this week. We will definitely be where we need to be," Erdogan said on Sunday.
"We cannot stay out of this."
The government hopes the motions will be passed by parliment before the Muslim Eid holiday which begins on Saturday.
In a rare move, Turkey's top general, Necdet Ozel, will speak to the cabinet on Tuesday, to be followed by a security summit chaired by Erdogan.
Turkey has so far accepted over 160,000 refugees who fled the IS assault near the town of Ain al-Arab, and has called for a safe zone and buffer zone to help civilians inside Syria.
Turkey has already taken in more than 1.5 million refugees who fled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
On Monday, a mortar shell fired from Syria landed in Turkish soil -- up to two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the border gate of Mursitpinar, an AFP photographer reported. It caused no damage nor casualties.
But a mortar shell that hit a house in a Turkish village on the Syrian border late Sunday left three people wounded, the military said on its website on Monday.
It said Turkey's armed forces responded in kind.
"The motions have not yet been sent to parliament. They may come tomorrow," parliamentary speaker Cemil Cicek was quoted as saying by NTV television.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the motions will be debated on Thursday.
Turkey refused to join a broad coalition led by the United States to defeat the jihadist fighters while dozens of its citizens including diplomats and children were being held by IS militants having been abducted from the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
After securing their freedom in a top-secret operation which reportedly resulted in the release of 50 IS fighters, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's position had changed, signalling a more robust stance towards the group.
"We will hold discussions with our relevent institutions this week. We will definitely be where we need to be," Erdogan said on Sunday.
"We cannot stay out of this."
The government hopes the motions will be passed by parliment before the Muslim Eid holiday which begins on Saturday.
In a rare move, Turkey's top general, Necdet Ozel, will speak to the cabinet on Tuesday, to be followed by a security summit chaired by Erdogan.
Turkey has so far accepted over 160,000 refugees who fled the IS assault near the town of Ain al-Arab, and has called for a safe zone and buffer zone to help civilians inside Syria.
Turkey has already taken in more than 1.5 million refugees who fled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
On Monday, a mortar shell fired from Syria landed in Turkish soil -- up to two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the border gate of Mursitpinar, an AFP photographer reported. It caused no damage nor casualties.
But a mortar shell that hit a house in a Turkish village on the Syrian border late Sunday left three people wounded, the military said on its website on Monday.
It said Turkey's armed forces responded in kind.
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