Published on August 10, 2015 at 9:02
Washington: The United States has sent six F-16 jets and about 300 personnel to the Air Base in Turkey.
Last month, Ankara had come to a conclusion to allow American planes to launch air strikes against Islamic State militants from their air base.
The Pentagon said in a statement that the fresh movement would be a small detachment from the 31st Fighter Wing based at Aviano Air Base in Italy.
Even though they had sent support equipments to the airbase, no further details regarding the same were furnished.
As per the contents in the statement, the United States and Turkey, as members of the 60-plus nation coalition, are committed to the fight against ISIL for maintaining peace and stability in the region.
The ability to fly manned bombing raids out of Incirlik, a major airbase used by both U.S. and Turkish forces, against targets in nearby Syria could be a big advantage.
Till this time, such flights were carried out mainly from the Gulf.
The decision to allow US to use airbase in Turkey was after a longtime denial by Ankara.
Earlier, they were reluctant to become engaged in the fight against Islamic State militants.
Currently, Turkey has been facing increased insecurity along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria.
Meanwhile, they are feared that the conflict could flow onto Turkish soil also and deteriorate their relationship with the Kurdish minority.
Video on the US fighter jets at Turkish air base