Intense fighting and strategic ramifications make the Jarablus area in northern Syria one of the hottest spots in the world right now. In my May 5 column, I had wondered whether clashes between Turkey and the Islamic State (IS) were about to become an undeclared war, as the signs on the ground suggest.

To break out of the crunch it is feeling in the Azaz-Manbij-Bab triangle and to continue to boast, “We are still strong,” IS is trying to expand its clashes to Turkey’s Kilis-Nizip-Gaziantep triangle. Ankara’s aim is to block this expansion at Turkey’s border. Police have been busy raiding locations identified as IS safe houses in Gaziantep and elsewhere and conducting mass detentions of people suspected of links to IS.

Belatedly, Ankara now appears determined to control the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). These IS militants, recruited from foreign countries, are currently living in Turkey or trying to reach another country via Turkey.

The United Nations Security Council broadly defines FTFs as those who leave their home countries to perpetuate, plan, prepare or otherwise participate in terrorist acts, or to provide or receive terrorist training. The definition goes far beyond the obvious "committing acts of terror." This is why Turkey is able to easily detain and interrogate foreign nationals it believes to be linked to IS.