BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE RECENT OPERATIONS BY THE

REPUBLIC OF TURKEY AGAINST DEASH AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL

TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS WHICH THREATEN THE SECURITY AND
SAFETY OF TURKEY AS WELL AS REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
STABILITY

Turkey has been an active partner in the international fight against DEASH and is
under attack by this terrorist organization

For many decades Turkey has been targeted by various terrorist organizations.

Since the start of the Assad regimes attack on its own people, which caused a
security crisis and resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale,
radical and extremist groups in Syria posed an increasing threat to Turkey.

In this regard, DEASH terrorist organization has been the main security risk
against Turkey.

As one of the leading members of the international community in the fight against
terrorism, in October 2013 Turkey has designated all off-shoots of the Al Qaeda
as terrorist organizations including DEASH and Al Nusra Front.

As a member of the International Coalition, Turkey had already been contributing

to the Coalitions efforts in Syria and Iraq during the past 10 months through the
use of its own national assets and capabilities. It should be recalled that Foreign
Minister avuolu announced in late June Turkeys granting of clearance for the
deployment of armed UAVs.

The recent terrorist attack in Suruc/Turkey constituted yet another testimony to the
grave threat posed by DEASH and led to Turkey's decisive response.

The terrorist attack that took the lives of 32 Turkish citizens in Suru, a district of
anlurfa governorate which is close to DEASH controlled Syrian territory, on 20
July 2015 tragically reaffirmed the clear, imminent and continuing threat posed by
DEASH against Turkey.

Immediately after the Suruc terrorist attack on 23 July 2015, DEASH attacked the
border military post in Elbeyli and killed a Turkish soldier.

Faced with the grave threat against its national security, Turkey decisively took
action to respond to the recent attacks and to prevent any further attacks that would
target its people and territory.

It is apparent that the regime in Syria is neither capable of nor willing to prevent
these threats emanating from its territory which clearly imperil the security of
Turkey and safety of its nationals.

As of July 24, 2015, Turkish Air Forces have conducted operations against certain
DEASH elements and positions in Syria, based on our right of self-defense in
accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Operations against DEASH are in compliance with the international law and will
continue

These operations were carried out in accordance with international law. As such,
the necessary notification has been communicated to the United Nations Security
Council. Turkey has also briefed its allies in NATO about the ongoing operations.
The operations are not one-point' and will continue as long as there is a threat
against Turkey.

Other international terrorist organizations stepped up their activities against

Turkey in the wake of DEASH attacks

While Turkey has been under attack by the DEASH terrorist organization, other
terrorist groups in the region also stepped up their assaults on the lives of innocent
citizens of Turkey.

The PKK terrorist organization, which is designated as such by the United States
and the European Union, shot two Turkish police officers in the head on July 23,
the day the Suruc attack occurred.

A third Turkish police officer was shot dead by members of the PKK while
conducting patroll with long-range guns.

Furthermore, the PKK started abducting civilians and public servants subsequent
to its killing of the Turkish law enforcement officials.

A third terrorist organization called DHKP-C (Peoples Revolutionary Salvation

Party-Front), a leftist radical group which also carried out a bomb attack against
the U.S. Embassy in Ankara in February 2013 in which a locally employed
Turkish private security officer was killed, started to join forces with the PKK in
targeting Turkey.

In this context, since June 7, 2015, 121 gun attacks, 15 abductions, 16 road raids,
59 cases of vehicle incinerations, 53 cases of attacks with explosives and 17 cases
of extortion were carried out in Turkey by various terrorist groups.

The security operations against these terrorist activities are carried out by
the Turkish Ministry of the Interior. To date, 320 persons have been detained
under the charge of being member of these terrorist organizations. Investigations
pertaining to these individuals are underway.

At the same time, Turkey decided to expand its air strikes to target the
headquarters of the PKK terrorist organization in the Qandil Mountains in
northern Iraq, in response to the terrorist attacks conducted by the PKK.

Faced with similar attacks by the PKK a few years ago, Turkey had undertaken
similar air strikes against the PKK presence in northern Iraq.

Though acting with different motivations, DEASH and the PKK share similar
tactics and goals. The PKK is using the war in Syria and the international fight
against DEASH as a pretext to claim political and military space.

Therefore, Turkey's operations will, if needed, continue until the PKK terror
organizations' command centers, all locations where they plan (attacks) against
Turkey and all depots used to store arms and ammunition to be used against
Turkey are destroyed.

Eliminating the threat posed by DEASH to our security and to the security of our
citizens as well as to the regional and global security and stability have been an
important aspects of the joint operational work conducted between Turkey and the
US for some time now.

Turkish-US cooperation against DEASH is growing stronger

Since the emergence of DEASH, Turkey and the United States have been in close
consultations on jointly defeating this threat.
As a continuation of this process, Turkey and the US have recently decided to
further deepen their ongoing cooperation in the fight against DEASH.

In this context, the Council of Ministers, based on the mandate provided by the
Turkish Grand National Assembly on October 2, 2014, has granted clearance for
the deployment of manned and unmanned aircraft from the US and other
Coalition members participating in air operations against DEASH, including a
number of regional countries subject to Turkish approval. Naturally, elements of

the Turkish Air Forces will also be deployed with the same objective in these
operations.
Safe zones and No Fly Zone should be viewed as a natural dimension of the fight
against DEASH

Turkey has always defended the establishment of safe zones and no-fly zones in
Syria. People who have been displaced due to the security crisis can be placed in
those safe zones.

The recent events confirm once again the importance of Turkey's call for creating
a safe zone along the Turkish-Syrian border with necessary air cover and
protection for Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other moderate opposition forces
fighting against the Assad regime on the one hand, and DEASH on the other.

When areas in northern Syria are cleared of the DEASH threat, safe zones will be
formed naturally.