Ankara launched its first air strikes against IS targets in late July but then put them on hold, instead concentrating its firepower on Kurdish militants in operations that have troubled some allies. But the Turkish official said the anti-IS operations had been put on hold at Washington's request so that the strikes against the militants could be carried out jointly.
"Turkey and the United States will coordinate operations," the official said speaking on condition of anonymity.
"From our perspective, there has been a pause right now as Americans asked to wait for coordination purposes."
Last month, Turkey agreed to open up its Incirlik air base in southern part of the country to coalition planes for bombing IS targets in Syria.
The landmark deal followed months of tough negotiations, as US officials sought to overcome Ankara's reluctance to take robust action in the anti-IS coalition.
"The (US) planes are arriving at (Incirlik), which is an indicator of the fact that the agreement reached with the United States is working," the official said.
"More planes will arrive. The number will increase in the coming period," the source added, without giving a timeframe for the start of the operations.
AFP
ahram.org.eg
12/8/15
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- US F-16 fighters fly first anti-ISIL missions from Turkey (Incirlik Air Base) ...
The United States launched its first manned air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets from the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey on Aug. 12, the U.S. military said.
The U.S.-led coalition had launched flying, unmanned missions against the militants earlier this month, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement.
The F-16 fighter missions on Aug. 12 mark an expansion of the U.S. air campaign against the militant group that President Barack Obama has vowed to defeat without committing U.S. ground combat troops in either Syria or Iraq.
- The Pentagon announced the start of the F-16 missions but provided no details beyond saying that the warplanes struck an unspecified number of targets in Syria.
- Turkish fighter jets were not involved in manned U.S. air strikes against ISIL targets, security forces speaking to Reuters said.
After months of negotiations between Washington and Ankara, the Turkish government agreed in late July to permit the U.S. to station aircraft at İncirlik air base in southern Turkey. The F-16s, along with about 300 U.S. personnel, deployed to İncirlik from an air base in Italy.
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
12/8/15
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Syrie: première mission d'avions de chasse américains depuis la Turquie...
ReplyDelete(Belga) Les Etats-Unis ont, pour la première fois, utilisé une base turque pour envoyer leurs avions de chasse bombarder les positions de l'Etat islamique (EI) en Syrie, a annoncé le Pentagone mercredi.
Jusqu'à présent, la coalition menée par les Américains n'avait utilisé la base turque d'Incirlik que pour envoyer des drones en Syrie tandis que ses avions de chasse s'élançaient de porte-avions ou d'autres sites militaires dans la région. "Aujourd'hui, les Etats-Unis ont commencé des missions avec pilote contre l'EI depuis la base aérienne de Incirlik, en Turquie. Des frappes ont été menées", a déclaré la commandante Elissa Smith, porte-parole du Pentagone. Selon elle, ces missions font suite au feu vert donné en juillet par Ankara aux Américains pour utiliser cette base du sud du pays pour mener l'offensive contre l'EI en Syrie. Un autre porte-parole de l'armée américaine a par ailleurs affirmé que les frappes avaient visé les militants de l'EI en Syrie, qui forment une des factions les plus puissantes de la complexe guerre civile dans le pays. Membre de l'Otan, la Turquie avait jusqu'à récemment refusé de participer aux opérations de la coalition contre l'EI, de peur de favoriser l'action des Kurdes de Syrie combattant sur le terrain les djihadistes à proximité de sa frontière. Mais l'attentat survenu le 20 juillet à Suruç (sud), qui a fait 32 morts et attribué à l'EI, a changé la donne et contraint Ankara à effectuer un tournant stratégique. (Belga)