Islamic State insurgents advance on Turkish tomb in Syria - Turkish deputy PM

Islamic State insurgents are advancing on a tomb in northern Syria regarded by Turkey as sovereign territory and guarded by Turkish soldiers, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on Tuesday.          

Ankara sees the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, as its own territory under a treaty signed with France in 1921, when Syria was under French rule, and has said it will defend the mausoleum.

Arinc said earlier that a parliamentary mandate enabling Turkey to take military action in Iraq and Syria will cover "all possible threats and risks".

Parliament is expected to vote on Thursday on a government proposal to extend existing mandates that allow Turkey to strike Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and to defend against any threat from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The extended mandate comes with Islamic State insurgents advancing in northern Syria, clashing with Kurdish fighters on Turkey's border and posing a growing threat to Turkey's national security.