Saudi Arabia deploys jets in Turkey to fight Islamic State

Saudi Arabia is deploying warplanes to a Turkish airbase in order to “intensify” its operations against the Islamic State group in Syria, a senior Saudi defense official says.

“The Saudi kingdom now has a presence at Incirlik airbase in Turkey,” Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri is quoted as saying by Al-Arabiya television.

“Saudi warplanes are present with their crews to intensify aerial operations along with missions launched from bases in Saudi Arabia,” Assiri says, without providing further details.

Riyadh and Ankara are both opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose foreign minister last week warned that any ground intervention would “amount to aggression that must be resisted.”

Assiri says the Saudi decision is in coordination with the coalition and that a ground operation is being planned.

— AFP