US intelligence chief says Turkey does not place 'high priority' on battling IS

Turkey does not place a high priority on battling the Islamic State (IS) and consequently, foreign fighters are able to travel through the country to enter Syria, a U.S. intelligence chief said.

On being asked if Turkey would play a more active role in the battle to take on the IS, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper replied in the negative and said that he believed that Turkey had "other priorities and other interests," reported News24.

He added that Turkey was more concerned with Kurdish opposition and the country's economy and public opinion polls showed that it did not see battling the IS as a "primary threat."

Clapper argued that the effect of Turkey's approach was to allow a "permissive" climate so as to allow foreign fighters to head to Syria to join the ranks of the IS.

He remarked that some states in the Middle East have been reluctant to join the U.S.-led coalition its fight against IS because of Washington's reluctance to confront the Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

However, the brutal savagery of the IS militants, including the beheadings of hostages and the killing of Jordanian pilot have had a "galvanising effect" on the opinion in the region. They are now more willing to cooperate with the U.S. in the war against the terror group, Clapper said.