Wednesday saw U.S. warplanes deploy for airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria after taking off from a Turkish base, for the first time. Three U.S. fighter jets were seen taking off from Incirlik on Wednesday, the Dogan News Agency of Turkey reported. This move is seen as the beginning of a new phase in the war against ISIS and jihad. The move came after an accord was signed with Ankara late last month.
The arrival of the fighter jets in Turkey along with support equipment and around 300 personnel was confirmed by the U.S. European Command in a statement. "The detachment is from the 31st Fighter Wing based at Aviano Air Base, Italy. This follows Turkey's decision to host the deployment of U.S. aircraft conducting counter-ISIL operations," a statement by the U.S. European Command said, according to Dawn.
Last week, a U.S. drone had executed a single lethal air strike against an ISIS target in Syria, but this was the first time Turkey's strategically-located Incirlik base was used for manned U.S. fighter jets, reported Sky News.
"Today, the United States began flying manned counter-ISIL missions from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Strikes were conducted," Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Elissa Smith said, according to Times of Israel.
Though it is a member of NATO, Turkey had refused to participate actively in the anti-IS operations, but a deadly bombing on July 20 in Suruc, a Turkish town opposite the Syrian flashpoint of Kobane, that left 32 people dead resulted in Ankara changing its position, as the Islamic State was suspected.
Now Turkey is fighting a two-pronged "anti-terror" offensive against IS jihadists in Syria and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey.
Allowing NATO forces to use the Incirlik base outside the city of Adana drastically cuts the distance needed for the U.S. jets to fly to northern Syria compared with other launch bases.
"Turkey and the United States will coordinate operations. From our perspective, there has been a pause right now as Americans asked to wait for coordination purposes," a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity in Ankara just before the Pentagon announcement, according to Business Insider.
