ANKARA, Sept 13 (AFP) - The Turkish foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador Eric Edelman on Monday over the situation in the mostly Turcoman populated Iraqi town of Tall Afar, where US strikes have claimed more than 50 lives.
Ministry undersecretary Ali Tuygan said Turkey was "preoccupied" by the situation and the envoy replied that "targeted strikes" by US forces were aimed at combatants and not civilans, Edelman told reporters after the meeting.
He said Turkey and the United States would cooperate to send speedy humanitarian assistance to the trouble spot just 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the Syrian border.
Edelman rejected claims in the Turkish media that US forces aimed to clear Tall Afar of its Turkish-speaking Turcomans, who are close to Ankara, and replace them with their own allies in Iraq, the Kurds.