President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday Turkey aimed to create a safe zone in Syria, extending its military operations to the towns of Manbij and Raqqa after driving Islamic State from al-Bab, if it acts together with the U.S.-led coalition.
In a speech in Bahrain, broadcast live on Turkish television, Erdoğan said the planned safe zone would cover an area of at least 4,000-5,000 square kilometres (3,475 square miles) and would require a no-fly zone.
"Arab and Turkmen civilians will be placed in the planned area" Erdoğan added.
