AFP file picture | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg (right) at a meeting between Ankara and the military alliance on October 9, 2014

NATO declared its "strong solidarity" with Turkey on Tuesday as the alliance met for a rare emergency meeting on the threat posed by Islamic State militants (IS). President Tayyip Erdogan warned that NATO may have a "duty" to become more involved.

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"We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks against Turkey, and express our condolences to the Turkish government and the families" of victims killed in recent terrorist actions, NATO ambassadors said in a statement after the meeting.

"Terrorism poses a direct threat to the security of NATO countries and to international stability and prosperity," the NATO statement said. "It is a global threat that knows no border, nationality or religion, a challenge that the international community must fight and tackle together."

Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty empowers member states to seek emergency consultations when they consider their "territorial integrity, political independence or security" to be in jeopardy. This was only the fifth such meeting in NATO's 66-year history.

In the run-up to the meeting, both NATO and Turkey played down any idea that the military alliance might provide air or ground support for Turkey’s new military campaign against the militants. But at a news conference in Ankara shortly afterward, Erdogan warned that NATO may have a duty to become more involved.

NATO's Article 5 provides for military support from member states if an ally comes under attack and Turkey has not invoked the measure. But Erdogan signalled that the alliance should be "prepared" for this eventuality.

“If a NATO member country comes under attack, NATO would support it in every way,” Erdogan said.

“Turkey has come under attack,” he said. “There could be a duty for NATO, and we ask NATO to be prepared for this.”

Recently, an IS group suicide bombing near Turkey's border with Syria left 32 people dead and an IS group attack on Turkish forces killed a soldier. On Tuesday, Turkey said a soldier had been wounded in an attack along the border with Iraq.

After months of reluctance, Turkish warplanes last week started striking militant targets in Syria and agreed to allow the US to launch its own strikes from Turkey's strategically located Incirlik Air Base.

‘No difference between PKK and IS group’

In a series of cross-border strikes, Turkey has not only targeted the IS group but also Kurdish fighters affiliated with forces battling the IS group in Syria and Iraq.

The Syrian Kurds are among the most effective ground forces battling IS group militants and have been backed by US-led airstrikes, but Turkey fears a revival of the Kurdish insurgency in pursuit of an independent state.

Referring to a string of deadly attacks in Turkey in recent weeks, Erdogan told the news conference that it would be impossible for Ankara to advance its current peace process with the PKK as long as those assaults continue.

The PKK has fought Turkey for autonomy for Kurds in a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984. The Kurds are an ethnic group with their own language living in a region spanning present-day Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia.

Western allies have said they recognise Turkey's right to self-defence but have urged Ankara not to allow peace efforts with the PKK to collapse.

For some NATO members and independent observers, it's unclear whether Turkey's main target is the IS group or the Kurds, Ian Kearns, director of London-based think tank the European Leadership Network, said.

What's more, Turkish leaders "have actually been arguing that the Kurds in Syria are more of a threat to Turkey", he said.

On Monday, Syria's main Kurdish militia and an activist group said Turkish troops shelled a Syrian village near the border, targeting Kurdish fighters.

"There is no difference between PKK and Daesh," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Monday, using an Arabic acronym to refer to the Islamic State group.

"You can't say that PKK is better because it is fighting Daesh," Cavusoglu said during a visit to Lisbon, Portugal.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, REUTERS)

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