USA to pull some warplanes out of Turkey

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) carried out an attack against a Sunni military camp in the Bashiqa region of northern Iraq, wounding four Turkish soldiers.

Carter’s visit, his second as Pentagon chief, came amid reports that Washington is looking for ways to broaden its military assistance to Iraq, including the possibility of sending in attack helicopters and deploying elite American military teams in Iraq to conduct raids against IS in Iraq and in neighboring Syria.

But aircraft from the anti-IS coalition will likely be making increased use of the Incirlik air base in southeastern Turkey in coming months, said Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman. Iraqi commanders say the prestige of the country’s army, following last year’s humiliating collapse, is at stake as they seek to fully recapture the city by year’s end.

The jets flew training missions with Turkey’s air force and Davis noted that Turkey and the United States also reached an agreement during the deployment outlining procedures for carrying out combat air patrols in the future. Though the United States generally backs Turkey, a fellow North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, in all things, concerns about the weakening Abadi government may force them to back Iraq in this case.

At the start of a meeting with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Carter said the US wants to help Iraq as it fights against IS in Ramadi and then later in Mosul.

“This is a very complex environment that we’re operating in, and we have to be attentive to some of the political realities that surround us every single day”, MacFarland told reporters on Wednesday.

During his visit Carter made no mention of the plan to withdraw the F-15s.

Turkey must pull all its forces out of a camp in northern Iraq, a spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister said on December 15 after Ankara withdrew some troops from the area. “It’s kind of hard to inflict support on somebody”, he said.

In recent days, Iraqi forces have retaken parts of Ramadi in what USA officials describe as a slow and deliberate attempt to penetrate laden with militant defenses.

Details of the plan have not been disclosed, and US officials haven’t said when they may deploy to Iraq.

Carter said his trip was also aimed at asking US allies for greater contributions in the military campaign against Islamic State.