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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• Turkey, US ready to begin anti-IS strikes after 'pause': Official...

Turkey is ready to begin operations against Islamic State (IS) militants along with its NATO ally United States after a "pause" for coordination purposes, a Turkish foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.
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