Hulusi Akar

During a Fox TV interview on Dec. 21, retired Gen. Raymond Odierno said that because of the "passive" strategy of U.S. President Barack Obama against terrorism, Russia had gained leadership in the Middle East.

The assassin of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was related to a movement led by U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed late on Dec. 21.
 
"Where he grew up and all connections reveal connections to FETÖ [the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] membership."  
   

A total of 56 people were being treated in hospital after a car bomb attack on a bus in the central Turkish city of Kayseri on Dec.17, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, an attack the military has said killed 13.

Turkish top civilian and security officials came together Dec. 15 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to review measures against potential terror incidents following twin suicide attacks in Istanbul over the weekend.

It also followed Erdoğan's statement that a national mobilization against terror should be launched. 

Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar met his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Joseph Dunford at the İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana on Dec. 5, the Turkish General Staff has announced. 

The meeting came while Dunford was at the base to celebrate an early Christmas with U.S. soldiers at the base as a part of the annual USO Holiday Tour. 

Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar met with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Joseph Dunford, at the İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana on Dec. 5, the Turkish General Staff has announced. 

The meeting came while Dunford was at the base to celebrate an early Christmas with U.S. soldiers at the base as a part of USO Holiday Tour.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Harun Kodalak has denied that his office applied to the Prime Ministry for permission to hear National Intelligence Chief (MİT) Hakan Fidan's victim and witness testimony as part of an ongoing probe into the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey. 

Connection with two soldiers deployed in Syria as part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield Operation has been lost, the Turkish Armed Forces announced late on Nov. 29, while the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which Turkish forces are combatting in northern Syria, claimed responsibility for the abduction of the two soldiers.

Connection with two soldiers deployed in Syria as a part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield Operation has been lost, the Turkish Armed Forces announced late on Nov. 29.

The military stated that contact with the soldiers was lost at around 3:30 p.m. 

It also added that search works to find the missing soldiers have been ongoing.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said an attack by the Syrian regime that killed three Turkish troops in northern Syria will "not be left unanswered," vowing that the Turkish army's determination to "clear the area of terrorists is unaffected by the move."