Ankara defends ISIS, Turkish officials have financial interest in oil trade with group – PM Medvedev

Turkey’s actions are de facto protection of Islamic State,” Medvedev said, calling the group formerly known as ISIS by its new name. “This is no surprise, considering the information we have about direct financial interest of some Turkish officials relating to the supply of oil products refined by plants controlled by ISIS.”

“The reckless and criminal actions of the Turkish authorities… have caused a dangerous escalation of relations between Russia and NATO, which cannot be justified by any interest, including protection of state borders,” Medvedev said.

According to the PM, Russia is considering canceling several important projects with Turkey and barring Turkish companies from the Russian market. Russia has already recommended its citizens not to travel to Turkey, citing terrorist threats, resulting in several tourist operators withdrawing tours to Turkey from the market.

https://www.rt.com/news/323373-ankara-defends-isis-medvedev/

ANKARA DEFENDS ISIS, TURKISH OFFICIALS HAVE FINANCIAL INTEREST IN OIL TRADE WITH GROUP – PM MEDVEDEV

Turkey’s actions are de facto protection of Islamic State,” Medvedev said, calling the group formerly known as ISIS by its new name. “This is no surprise, considering the information we have about direct financial interest of some Turkish officials relating to the supply of oil products refined by plants controlled by ISIS.”

“The reckless and criminal actions of the Turkish authorities… have caused a dangerous escalation of relations between Russia and NATO, which cannot be justified by any interest, including protection of state borders,” Medvedev said.

Ankara Defends ISIS, Turkish Officials Have Financial Interest in Oil Trade with Group – PM Medvedev

ATTACKS ON THE PRESS ESCALATE AHEAD OF TURKISH ELECTIONS

 ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, Turkish riot police stormed the offices of Koza Ipek Holding, a media group in Istanbul housing the Bugun TV channel and the Bugun and Millet newspapers.

“Dear viewers,” a Bugun TV anchor casually announced during the early morning broadcast, “do not be surprised if you see police in our studio in the upcoming minutes.” Outside, police were leading journalists away in handcuffs, while citizens — many of them journalists who worked in the building — protested the dawn raid as police attempted to disperse the growing crowd with tear gas and water cannons.

Scenes of riot police suddenly and forcefully storming media outlets perceived to be critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have become increasingly common in Turkey. In June the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) won 13 percent of the vote in the Parliamentary election, thereby surpassing the 10 percent electoral threshold needed for Parliamentary representation and taking away seats from President Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Since then, Turkey has experienced a significant uptick in attacks on media outlets viewed as sympathetic to the opposition parties, in particular the pro-Kurdish parties. The Koza Ipek Holding media group is affiliated with Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric and arch-rival of President Erdogan.

https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/attacks-on-the-press-escalate-ahead-of-turkish-elections/

Ex-BBC journalist found hanged in Turkish airport lost three colleagues in terror attacks in just one month

 A former BBC journalist found hanged in a toilet cubicle at a Turkish airport had mourned the deaths of three colleagues in terror attacks in just a month and attended a memorial to one of them days before her death, it emerged today.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3278391/British-woman-50-hanged-toilets-Istanbul-airport-missing-connecting-flight-Iraq.html#ixzz3p4G5bcID
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EX-BBC JOURNALIST FOUND HANGED IN TURKISH AIRPORT

 Jacky Sutton, an international development worker, was found dead at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport after missing a connecting flight to Erbil in Iraq.

She appeared distressed after being told by airline staff that she would have to buy a new ticket and was later found in the toilets by three Russian passengers, according to local media.

At the end of April, Ms Sutton posted on her Facebook page the story of Sabeen Mahmud, a human rights campaigner who was killed by a gunman in Karachi, Pakistan.

Just weeks later, her predecessor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), Ammar Al Shahbander, was killed in an Islamic State bomb blast in Baghdad on May 2.

 http://www.infowars.com/ex-bbc-journalist-found-hanged-in-turkish-airport/

Turkish jets strike PKK targets after deadly militant attack

 Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish insurgent targets overnight after the militants staged what appeared to be their deadliest attack since the collapse of a two-year-old ceasefire in July and killed 16 government soldiers.

The military said its aircraft bombed 23 targets in a mountainous area near the Iraqi frontier on Monday. Another six soldiers had been wounded, but none were in critical condition.

The clashes, weeks before polls the ruling AK Party hopes will restore its majority, threaten to sink a peace process President Tayyip Erdogan launched in 2012 in an attempt to end an insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/07/us-mideast-crisis-turkey-kurds-idUSKCN0R70BG20150907

ISIL attacks on Turkish border amid more US build-up at İncirlik base

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has launched a new offensive against Syrian rebels north of Aleppo, gaining ground near the Turkish-Syrian border, as the United States beefs up its military presence at a Turkish base ahead of large operations against the jihadist group.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/isil-attacks-on-turkish-border-amid-more-us-build-up-at-incirlik-base.aspx?pageID=238&nID=86774&NewsCatID=352

Turkish Warplanes Strike PKK Targets in Southeast

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1713821-turkish-warplanes-strike-pkk-targets-in-southeast/

TURKISH WARPLANES STRIKE PKK TARGETS IN SOUTHEAST

In a statement, the Turkish military said jets hit 17 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, around the Buzul mountain and the Ikiyaka region in Hakkari province, which borders Iran and Iraq.

In further violence Tuesday, Kurdish rebels attacked an infantry brigade command post in nearby Sirnak province, seriously wounding a soldier who later died in a hospital.

http://www.infowars.com/turkish-warplanes-strike-pkk-targets-in-southeast/

Iraq’s Barzani condemns Turkish bombing he says killed civilians

Related: WORLD, TURKEY, IRAQ

The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Saturday condemned Turkey’s bombardment of a village there which he said had killed civilians, and called for a return to the peace process.

“We condemn this bombardment that led to the martyrdom of people from the Kurdistan region and call on Turkey not to bombard civilians again,” Massoud Barzani said in a statement.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters that Ankara was working with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to investigate claims of civilian casualties in the village of Zargala on Friday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/01/us-mideast-crisis-turkey-iraq-idUSKCN0Q635X20150801