Turkey holds security summit as 19 killed in protests

Turkey held a security summit Wednesday as Islamic State (IS) militants approached the centre of Syrian border town of Kobane, a crisis that triggered violent protests across Turkey in which 19 people have been killed.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened the meeting in an effort to combat IS militants who have unleashed their attack on the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobane on the Syrian-Turkish borders since mid-September, Xinhua reported.

On a high alert, Turkish tanks and ground forces have stationed along the borders with Syria, just a few hundred metres away from the battle in Kobane.

However, the troops have not intervened in the fighting, despite the fact that IS militants have been approaching the neighbourhoods of the Kurdish town for the first time.

Turkey has reiterated that it needs a no-fly zone in Syria and a "safe zone" along their borders, but the idea is not supported by the US and other member states of the US-led anti- IS coalition.

Domestically, the crisis around Kobane also triggered a large scale of violent protests across the Turkey, as protesters accused the Turkish government of not providing military support to the surrounded Kurds in Syria.

On Tuesday 19 protesters were killed and dozens more injured in the Kurdish dominated areas.