World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkey will not get directly involved in an operation to liberate Syria’s Raqqah from ISIL, but instead it will provide tactical support, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.

"The United States, Turkey along with local forces, civilian forces, the FSA [Free Syrian Army] and other militias… they are at the forefront while we are at the back," Yildirim told reporters in Munich where he is attending a security conference.

About the possibility of the U.S. not getting involving in the Raqqah operation, Yildirim said the U.S. had an operation plan in any case.

He also said ties between the two countries would breakdown if the U.S. decided to involve the PKK/PYD terror group in the Raqqah operation.

Turkey considers the PYD and its military wing, YPG, as Syrian branches of the terror PKK group. The PKK -- listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,100 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including women and children.