Attempted Turkey coup threatens U.S. fight against Islamic State

By Jonathan Landay and Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The attempted military coup in Turkey could hamper the United States in its war against Islamic State in Syria and undermine other U.S. goals in the Middle East by weakening democracy and sparking prolonged instability in the NATO pact’s only Muslim member. With the Turkish military and security services apparently split as gunfire and explosions rocked both Istanbul and the capital Ankara on Friday night, the United States made clear it was siding with the government of President Tayyip Erdogan. Relations between Erdogan's government and the U.S. administration have been rocky, but he has broadly cooperated in the fight against Islamic State.