The Pentagon says the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group has resumed sorties from the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.
“After close coordination with our Turkish allies, they have reopened their airspace to military aircraft,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.
“As a result, counter-ISIL coalition air operations at all air bases in Turkey have resumed,” he added, using an acronym for the IS group.
Incirlik, which is the main based used by the coalition for flights against the Islamic State, was shut on Friday night as an attempted coup got underway and Turkey shut down its airspace.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, attends the funeral of victims of the coup attempt in Istanbul on July 17, 2016. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS)
Cook said Saturday the US had shifted its operations to other bases and was “working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible.”
Among those arrested at the base after the coup failed was Brigadier air force general Bekir Ercan Van along with 11 lower-ranking officers.
One police officer from the base was also arrested. All are suspected of “complicity” in the coup plot, an official said.
Officials have said the authorities suspect that Incirlik was used by rogue troops to refuel military aircraft “hijacked” by the coup plotters on Friday night.
— with AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
