US begins manned airstrikes from Incirlik Air Base

The U.S. on Wednesday launched its first airstrikes by Turkey-based F-16 fighter jets against Islamic State targets in Syria, marking a limited escalation of a yearlong air campaign that critics have called excessively cautious.

The small detachment of F-16s arrived at Incirlik on Sunday from Aviano Air Base, Italy, according to a post on U.S. European Command’s Facebook page.

The idea of a safe zone has been troubling for American officials for good reason: Ankara wants the US-led coalition to establish and protect the enclave with its air power.

“The U.S. has yet to hit Daesh (IS) through Turkey”. 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.

“What our minister pointed out is that Turkish aircraft were not involved in yesterday’s [Wednesday] operations”, said Bilgic.

“Facing this current scene, our only option was to withdraw and leave our frontline positions (with Islamic State) in the northern Aleppo countryside for any fighting faction in these areas to take over”, the Nusra Front said.

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

“There’s no agreement on some kind of zone”, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said when asked about the report.

The U.S. maintained Tuesday that it does not view efforts to clear ISIL from the northern Syrian border as a bid to create a “safe zone”.

The situation between the U.S. and Turkey may be getting ever more tense as the U.S.is launching a partnership with Syria’s Kurds, the YPG, who are allies with the PKK. The new access should shorten flight times compared with flights from bases in Iraq or aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.

The train-and-equip program intends to bolster Syrian insurgents deemed politically moderate enough by the US to fight ISIL, which has seized wide areas of Syria.

Incirlik, near the Turkish city of Adana, is about 285 miles (460 kilometers) from Islamic State’s self-declared capital of Raqqa in Syria.

In a 30-minute speech in California, Mr Bush said President Barack Obama and Ms Clinton had orchestrated an early withdrawal of US troops, setting the stage for the chaos sweeping the region now and the rise of the Islamic State.