Reuters reports that U.S. F-16s flying from the air base, only recently opened to U.S. air forces by the Turkish government for targeting ISIS, had taken part in raids against the Islamic State.
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“If there was a no-fly zone and a safe haven inside Syria, there wouldn’t be such a flow [of migrants to the EU countries]”, Davutoglu said.
Late last month, the Nusra Front crushed the U.S.-backed faction known as Division 30 in northern Syria, and captured, killed or wounded many of its fighters.
Turkish diplomatic sources said the zone to be cleared of ISIL will be made “safe” after the joint operation.
The United States has previously used armed drones to conduct airstrikes from Incirlik and for months, had been requesting the use of the base to target the Islamic State.
The planned buffer would prevent a powerful Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, from further expanding a zone of control that already stretches some 400 kilometres along the Syrian-Turkish border.
The arrival of the fighter jets in Turkey along with support equipment and around 300 personnel were confirmed by the U.S. European Command.
The attack on Marea followed the capture of a nearby rebel-held village, Um Hosh, by Islamic State fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a rebel commander said.
“We are aware of claims of suspected civilian casualties relating to airstrikes in Syria and Iraq and we continue to evaluate them”.
Embattled US-trained rebels in Syria pledged they would not fight al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra on Tuesday, even as Washington promised to ramp up air support in their defence.
As members of a more than 60-nation coalition, the United States and Turkey “are committed to the fight against ISIL in the pursuit of peace and stability in the region”, the statement said.
The safe zone would have “positive effects, from the humanitarian, military, and political perspectives that will serve the interests of both countries”, the group’s online statement said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed there would be “no concessions” in Turkey’s relentless offensive against Kurdish militants, as its south-east was hit by new deadly violence.
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At least 25 Syrian rebels were killed overnight in an attack by Islamic State group fighters on an insurgent stronghold in Aleppo province, a monitor said today.
