US says talking to Turkey about seizure of Raqqa

The United States is continuing to talk with ally Turkey on the role it will play in the operation to seize the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) main stronghold in Syria, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said on Nov. 2. 

Carter's comments, made during a news conference, come days after Turkey said it wants the Raqqa operation to start after Mosul and Euphrates Shield operations have been completed. 

"We'll continue to talk with Turkey about its role in the eventual seizure of Raqqa, but we're proceeding now with the operation according to our plan," Carter said, according to Reuters. 

Carter said last week that Washington expected the Raqqa operation to overlap with the battle to retake Mosul from ISIL. 

"We intend to go there soon with the force that is capable of doing that and enveloping the city of Raqqa... the final seizure of Raqqa, we continue to talk to Turkey about that and a possible role for Turkey in that further down the road," Carter said. 

Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG), the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), fighters will be included as a part of the force to isolate the ISIL-held Syrian city, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq had said. 

The United States regards the YPG and PYD as allies in its fight against ISIL, but Turkey regards them as terrorist organizations because of its links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey has said that the Raqqa operation should be carried out by local forces and the YPG militia should not be included. 

In an article published in the Washington Post on Oct. 31, U.S. administration officials were cited as saying U.S. President Barack Obama told Turkish...