Turkey has suspended all flights against the objectives of the Islamic State in Syria from the Incirlik base. The news was confirmed a few minutes ago by the Pentagon.
Turkey started bombing Islamic State fighters in Syria and PKK camps in northern Iraq at the end of last July in response to a suicide bombing that killed more than 30 civilians in the city of Suruc. The Turkish air campaign has been criticized for being more focused on the PKK positions in northern Iraq than on those of the Islamic State.
It has emerged that the Turks have probably also affected the Kurdish troops of the YPG, an active militia in Syria and supported by the United States. Precisely the YPG troops are considered fundamental in the US strategy against the Islamic State.
They write from the Pentagon - "Turkey has decided to suspend the raids in Syria until some details are finalized in the relationship with the Coalition".
The United States carried out the first air raid on the night of the 12 last August from the Turkish base of Incirlik against targets of the Islamic State in Syria. In a brief statement, the Pentagon announced that the F-16 were launched from the base in southern Turkey, giving no details on the number of targets hit.
Since August 1st, the United States has carried out missions unmanned right from Incirlik. F-16 deployed add a new dimension to the air campaign, due to the risk of Syrian air defenses.
According to the Pentagon, the Incirlik base has the main advantage of being in close proximity to the goals of Islamic states in northern Syria, even though F-16 could also carry out missions on Iraq.
With the ban on the Incirlik airbase, the F-16 of the 31 ° Fighter Wing stationed in Aviano, could reach bases in Qatar and Jordan in the next few hours.
(photo: US DoD archive)
