F-16s launch airstrikes on ISIS from Turkey

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said U.S. jets now based at Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey had hit their first targets in Syria, which American officials cheered as a significant step forward.

State TV said pro-government forces “continued their resistance” to the attack on al-Foua and nearby Kefraya, which both have Shia populations.

Members of the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants who attempt to infiltrate the safe-zone will instantly be “neutralized by each Turkish and US army forces”, the assertion stated.

The US-led coalition has been conducting air strikes against ISIL in Syria and Iraq since a year ago.

A few days ago, the US attacked the group with armed drones and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said there would be more to come.

Such access should shorten flight times for U.S. (and presumably allied) fighter jets – especially in Syria, where the group calling itself the Islamic State has its de facto capital in Raqqa – compared with taking off from bases in Iraq or aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.

The Turkish officials also said stated that the train-and-equip program for the Syrian opposition was underway.

ISIS, largely considered the most influential terrorist group since the killing of Osama bin Laden, is a global network of terrorists that U.S. President Barack Obama, among other worldwide heads-of-state, have sought to fracture and destabilize.

US officials have previously said discussions were ongoing about the size and scope of a safe zone along the border, but that the aim would be to clear it of ISIL fighters and allow moderate rebels to operate freely.

Ankara hopes the zone will be safe enough to accommodate at least some of the 1.8 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Syrian militants first faced the Turkey air strikes in the month of July.

Insurgent sources said Nusra had handed over two villages north of Aleppo to an alliance of rebel groups operating in the area known as Jabhat al-Shamiya, or the Levant Front. “Turkey and the United States will coordinate operations”, a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity in Ankara just before the Pentagon announcement.

Krystal Ardrey/U.S. Air Force via APIn this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, an F-16 Fighting Falcon takes off from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, as the U.S. on Wednesday, August 12, 2015. “Beyond air operations, we continue our dialogue with Turkey to evaluate options on the most effective means of countering ISIL on its borders in a manner that promotes Turkey’s security and regional stability”.