Davutoğlu says ISIL is driven by anger, avoids calling it terrorist

Photo: Reuters

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has continued Ankara's tradition of avoiding to call the Islamic State as a terrorist organization, says militants of the group are driven largely by anger.

"The structure called ISIL, in its core, could be viewed as a terrorized, radical group, but people joined there ... and there are significant numbers of Turkmens, Sunni Arabs, Kurds... we should know it like this. Previous discontent, anger, discrimination and insults gave birth to a wide reaction in a big front," Davutoğlu told NTV news channel on Thursday.

Erdogan names loyal ally Davutoglu as new Turkey PM

 

Credit: AFP Photo/Adem Altan

Turkey's president-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday named Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to succeed him as ruling party leader and prime minister, promoting an ally who is expected to show unstinting loyalty to the new head of state.

Erdogan -- who has dominated Turkey's political scene for 11 years as prime minister -- is to be inaugurated as president next week after his election victory earlier this month.