PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his US counterpart that Turkey is ready to kick Daesh out of its capital Raqqa in Syria.

The president said yesterday Turkey-backed opposition fighters inside Syria will eventually reach Raqqa after securing the towns of al-Bab and Manbij.

“Last night we had a long conversation with Obama and shared our plans with him. We said, ‘Come let’s kick Daesh out of Raqqa together’,” President Erdogan said.

President Erdogan added that he called for the operation to take place without involvement of Syrian Kurdish forces.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militias an extension of its own outlawed Kurdish rebels, though the US regards them as the most effective ground force in the fight against Daesh.