Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday Ankara will not take part in any military offensive by Iraq to retake the city of Mosul from the Takfiri group operating in Iraq, ISIL.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday Ankara will not take part in any military offensive by Iraq to retake the city of Mosul from the Takfiri group operating in Iraq, ISIL.

"We would support Mosul but will not combat directly," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet newspaper en route to New York, referring to Turkey's willingness to offer Iraq logistical and other assistance, but not troops.

Davutoglu, however, warned that Turkey would respond if threatened by any attack on its soil.

"If there is any direct threat to Turkey we will respond immediately. We have the potential and strength to do that," he was quoted as saying in the report.

Mosul holds special significance as the place where ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his so-called "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria.

The Takfiri militants have controlled Mosul, Iraq's second city, in an offensive that took part in June 2014.

Since that time, the Iraqi army and the popular mobilization forces have been engaged in several military operations against ISIL and managed to liberate large parts of the occupied areas.