Turkey’s President Erdogan has aroused suspicion in the West by dragging his feet against the Islamic State and moving much more energetically against the Kurds than against the jihadis. But he has allowed the US to use a Turkish air base, and so that has lost him any sympathy he might have had among Islamic State supporters.
“IS calls on Turkish Muslims to join jihad,” Associated Press, August 18, 2015:
ANKARA, Turkey — Islamic State calls Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a traitor for allowing the US to use air bases for strikes against the group, and urges Muslims in Turkey to support the extremist group and fight the “crusaders, atheists and tyrants.”
An IS video message released on Twitter on Monday shows a Turkish-speaking fighter, flanked by two others, accusing Erdogan of permitting the US to “bombard the people of Islam.”
Six F-16 fighter jets arrived at a Turkish air base last week and began flying missions against the IS group over Syria.