British foreign secretary discusses counter-militants with Turkish FM

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Friday discussed counter-terrorism cooperation with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone call, renewing their commitment to defeating the Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIL.

"We talked about Turkey's recent action against ISIL and the increased use of Turkish air bases that will further enhance coalition efforts to counter the ISIL threat in the region," Hammond said in a statement following the phone call.

Turkish military has joined the U.S.-led fight against IS and bombed IS targets in Syria and Iraq since late July.

"The Global Coalition, including Turkey, is committed to defeating ISIL - a fight that will take time and patience but one we must win," Hammond said.

"Turkey has also suffered a recent series of PKK (Kurdish Workers' Party) terrorist attacks. I passed my condolences for the loss of so many lives," he added.

The foreign secretary said Britain condemns all acts of terrorism and recognizes the Turkish government's "right to respond proportionately."

"I made clear the UK's continued support for getting the Kurdish peace process back on track," he noted.

Turkey recently launched an offensive against IS militants in Syria and PKK rebels in northern Iraq, including air strikes and artillery shelling against the targets.

In late July, Turkey agreed to open its air bases, including the key Incirlik Airbase in southern Turkey, for the use of coalition forces fighting against IS in Syria and Iraq.