Islamic State group: Turkey and US 'ready to invade capital'

Raqqa is considered the IS militants' de facto capital and its loss would be a huge blow

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested he and the US are ready to drive so-called Islamic State (IS) from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

Mr Erdogan said US counterpart Barack Obama floated the idea of joint action against the militants when they met at the G20 meeting in China.

He said Turkey would have "no problem" with such action.

Last month Turkey launched an operation inside Syria, targeting both IS and Kurdish rebels.

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Turkish-backed militia drove IS from the border town of Jarablus, but Turkey has also been concerned with checking the advance of Kurdish forces whom it regards as terrorists.

The offensive continues, and Russia, who is allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says it is deeply concerned by the movement of Turkish forces deeper into Syrian territory.

Mr Erdogan's comments on Raqqa were published in Turkish media. There has been no confirmation from the US.

"Obama wants to do some things jointly concerning Raqqa," Mr Erdogan said. "We said this would not be a problem from our perspective.''

"I said 'our soldiers should come together and discuss, then what is necessary will be done'," Mr Erdogan added.

Mr Erdogan gave few other details but said more discussions would follow.

Raqqa's fall was a key point in the rise of IS as it seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, and is now considered the jihadists' de facto capital.

Between 250,000-500,000 people are still thought to live there, with brutal stories emerging of the treatment of civilians.

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Analysis: By Jonathan Marcus, BBC Defence & Diplomatic Correspondent

Through its large-scale incursion into northern Syria, Turkey has made itself a military player in the country.

But Ankara's move, directed in part against Kurdish forces backed by Washington, prompted serious strains in US-Turkey relations, already poor in the wake of the failed coup against the Erdogan government.

There is now a desire on both sides to improve ties and the suggestion from President Erdogan of US acquiescence in a Turkish role in the wider battle-plan to recapture Raqqa from IS is clearly part of this.

It would be an acknowledgement by Washington of Turkey's continuing strategic interest in Syria.

No details have been given as to what a Turkish role might amount to but clearly if Raqqa is attacked then the zone approaching the Turkish border to the north of the city needs to be secured to block the withdrawal of fleeing IS forces.

Calais migrants: Work to start on UK-funded wall..

Construction of a UK-funded wall near Calais' so-called Jungle migrant camp will begin very soon, a minister says. Dubbed the "Great Wall of Calais" by some media, the 4m (13ft) wall will run for 1km (0.6 miles) along both sides of the main road to Calais port. Home Office minister Robert Goodwill said security was being "stepped up" as migrants continue to try to board vehicles heading to Britain. But a lorry drivers' group called the wall a "poor use" of public money. Work is expected to start this month, with the wall due to be finished by the end of the year. Numerous fences have been built to protect the port, the Eurotunnel terminal and train tracks on the other side of Calais, and the BBC understands the wall will not replace any of those. Calais migrants 'very aggressive' Lorry driver describes attack Calais chief wants new deal with UK The government refused to confirm the cost of the wall, but reports suggest a £1.9m price tag - to be paid for out of £17m announced by David Cameron earlier this year.

Speaking to the Home Affairs Committee of MPs on Tuesday, Mr Goodwill said: "The security that we are putting in at the port is being stepped up with better equipment.

"We are going to start building this big new wall very soon. We've done the fence; now we are doing a wall."

But Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, called the plan a "poor use of taxpayers' money".

He said funding for a wall "would be much better spent on increasing security along the approach roads".

'Chaos reigns'

Vikki Woodfine, of law firm DWF, works with many hauliers and said a wall "isn't the answer".

"It is simply a knee-jerk reaction that is unlikely to make a difference in the long run - particularly since the route to the Calais port is already surrounded by fences and barbed wire," she said.

She said the "real problem" was a lack of policing.

"Chaos reigns in the Calais region, yet hauliers are being fined up to £4,000 per migrant found in their vehicle," she added.

Many of the migrants living at the Jungle and other camps in northern France attempt to reach the UK by boarding lorries as they approach ports or the Channel Tunnel.

Last month, BBC footage showed people-smugglers wielding sticks and dragging a felled tree onto the main Calais port road to stop lorries and allow migrants to climb on board.

On Monday, French lorry drivers and farmers blockaded the main motorway route into Calais in a protest calling for the closure of the Jungle.