Ambassadors from NATO's 28 member states met in Brussels for an emergency session on Tuesday to gauge the threat that the self-styled "Islamic State" (IS) extremist group might pose to Turkey, and the actions Turkish authorities are taking in response.

Turkey had launched a wave of airstrikes in Iraq last week hitting IS militant strongholds, while also targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the country's northwest. Turkey's military said that Kurdish militants continued to fire on Turkish soldiers with heavy weaponry, impeding its progress in combatting IS.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a NATO official said that many member states urged Turkey to continue peace efforts with representatives of the Kurdish minority, who are also fighting against IS. A peace-plan with the PKK, initiated in 2013, was cancelled after last week's violent attacks, but the Turkish government said it might consider coming back to the plan if "terrorist elements" within the PKK put down their weapons and left Turkish territory.

Agreement and dissent

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said his council of ministers viewed Turkish airstrikes in his country as "a dangerous escalation and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty."

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia's King Salman affirmed his country's support for Turkey's military actions against IS and its right to defend itself against terrorist acts.

Safe Zone

Turkey's NATO partners said they stood "in strong solidarity" with the nation, and that the security of the US-led alliance is "indivisible."

Turkish and US officials also started discussing the creation of a "safe zone" near Turkey's border with Syria, which would be cleared of any IS presence. Khaled Khoja, the leader of Syria's main political opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, urged NATO partners to support the establishment of this "safe zone" in northern Syria as a matter of urgency. The plan foresees the creation of a buffer zone out of a 68-mile (109 kilometer) stretch of land which is still under IS control.

Extraordinary meeting

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had opened the rare emergency meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels by expressing condolences to the Turkish people and government for recent deadly attacks there. He said that "terrorism in all its forms" can never be justified.

The extraordinary meeting Tuesday at NATO headquarters is only the fifth such emergency session in the 66-year history of the alliance. The NATO treaty empowers member states to seek emergency consultations under Article 4 of the alliance's treaty, if they deem their territorial integrity, political independence or security to be under threat.

ss/lw (AP, AFP)