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US launches first airstrike against IS from Turkey

August 6, 2015

For the first time, the US has carried out an airstrike against the "Islamic State" from Turkey. The strike comes as Ankara says it's ready to act more robustly to combat the jihadist group.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GAq0
US Kampfjets fliegen Angriffe gegen IS in Syrien Archiv August 2014
Image: picture-alliance/DOD/US Air Force

The United States on Wednesday for the first time struck an "Islamic State" (IS) target in Syria from an airbase in Turkey, signaling increased cooperation from Ankara in the fight against the militant group.

"A US drone today carried out one airstrike in Syria near Raqqa," a Turkish official told news agency AFP. The "Islamic State" group has claimed the northern Syrian town as its capital.

The drone was launched from Turkey's southern Incirlik air base, which Ankara recently agreed to open to the US military to use as a staging area for strikes against IS in Syria.

Western leaders have long urged Turkey to do more to battle IS, but Ankara had for months stayed on the sidelines.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier announced that Turkey was ready to start a "comprehensive" fight against the militant group in Syria as an ally of the US-led coalition.

US defense officials announced earlier this week that drones had taken off from Incirlik to conduct missions over Syria, but Wednesday's strike marked the first time an airstrike had been conducted.

About 30 US fighter jets are expected to arrive at Incirlik in the coming days.

'Comprehensive fight against Daesh'

NATO ally Turkey had thus far refused to take aggressive action against the "Islamic State" group, but after a deadly bombing blamed on IS jihadists Ankara began limited airstrikes against the militants in Syria.

Cavusoglu said his nation would be stepping up its airstrikes against IS fighters.

"The US planes have begun arriving and soon we will launch a comprehensive fight against Daesh all together," he told the official Anatolia news agency, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Ankara has long been criticized for failing to stop the flow of militants and foreign fighters across its border with Syria. Its bombing campaign thus far has largely concentrated on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey, drawing accusations it was using the anti-IS offensive as cover to carry out strikes against Kurdish forces.

bw/cmk (AFP, EFE)