The Turkish parliament has approved by a majority of three to one a motion allowing its armed forces to cross the border into Syria or Iraq to strike at the Islamic State militants.

The motion also allows foreign troops to be stationed in Turkey and use bases there for the same purpose.

IS militants now have eye contact with Turkish positions along its Syrian border and while air strikes are hurting them, their advance continues apace. Turkey’s President insists air power will not be enough and is insisting Syria’s Bashar al-Assad has to go.

While few observers expect Turkish military power to be used in Syria any time soon, the imprisoned rebel Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan is urging Turkey to go to his people’s aid. Negotiations are ongoing between Ankara and the Kurds, and Ocalan warned relations would suffer if Syria’s Kurds were left to die.