US denies Erdogan accusations of 'supporting IS'

The United States embassy in Ankara on Wednesday denies Washington had ever supported Islamic State (IS) jihadists in the Syrian conflict after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed the extremists had enjoyed US backing.

“The United States government is not supporting Daesh,” the embassy says in a terse statement, using another acronym for IS.

The United States “did not create or support Daesh in the past. Assertions the United States government is supporting Daesh are not true,” it adds.

The statement does not mention Erdogan by name but said there was “considerable misinformation circulating in Turkish media” about US operations against IS in Syria.

“For those interested in the truths, here are the truths,” the embassy says.

— AFP