Government confirms ISIL militants advancing on Turkish tomb in Syria

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants are advancing on a tomb in northern Syria regarded by Turkey as sovereign territory and guarded by Turkish soldiers, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said on Tuesday.

Arınç's remarks, made after a Cabinet meeting, confirmed a news report by the pro-government Yeni Şafak daily saying that ISIL has been reinforcing militants around the tomb of Süleyman Şah, the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, for the past three days.

"It is true that ISIL militants are approaching the Süleyman Şah tomb," Arınç said, adding, however, that Turkish troops guarding the tomb have not been evacuated.

The report said there are now 1,100 ISIL militants surrounding the tomb, citing unnamed local sources. It also said an attack on the tomb is possible and that ISIL militants might take some 36 Turkish soldiers stationed there hostage.

Reports that the Süleyman Shah tomb, considered Turkish territory under a 1921 Franco-Turkish agreement, is under threat of attack emerged earlier this year, prompting the government to declare that it would retaliate against any such attack.

The government is currently considering joining a US-led coalition against ISIL. It insists on the creation of a safe zone inside Syria, but the US is cool to the idea, saying it is not part of the campaign at the moment.