Special to WorldTribune.com

Turkey has increased its role in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) but many observers say Ankara joined the fight in order to ultimately stop Kurds from establishing an autonomous region in northern Syria.

Turkish security forces in the last few weeks have arrested dozens of ISIL terrorists and sympathizers. The raids were the most significant by the Turks since the jihadists began seizing large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014.

Analysts say Turkish authorities have finally woken up to the domestic threat posed by ISIL, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has also realized it had to support the Western coalition against ISIL if there were any hopes of preventing an autonomous Kurdish region. The United States does not support autonomy for the Kurds.

“Turkey has realized that it would not receive any support from its allies…to prevent the creation of an autonomous Kurdish area on its border if it failed to respond to their harsh criticism on the fight against ISIL,” said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Istanbul-based think-tank EDAM.

Turks, however, now see that “they are in the frontline, risking retaliation from the jihadists themselves,” said Ulgen, who added that “they still cannot control their borders and fear ISIL members may slip through its soil among refugees.”

On July 10, Turkish security forces arrested 29 suspected ISIL members in Istanbul and other cities for “directing citizens of European countries seeking to join Daesh operations to Syria and Iraq,” said a Turkish official, using another name for ISIL.

The arrests came just after a U.S. delegation visited Turkey to demand more cooperation from Ankara in the coalition’s campaign against ISIL.

“It’s now obvious that the Turkish government has upgraded the threat posed by ISIL to among the top ones it is facing,” a senior Western diplomat told AFP. “It’s a reassessment we’ve been expecting for a long time.”

Max Abrahms, a member at the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, said Turkey’s increased raids on suspected terrorists were “welcome” but also “way too little, way too late.”

“From the U.S. perspective, Turkey has been a massive disappointment in helping to combat Islamic State.”

  Kurds in northern Syria, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s calculation in finally joining the fight to stop ISIL, WorldTribune.com