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Aug 31, 2015

Turkey carries out first air strikes as part of anti-Isis US coalition

Turkish fighter jets have carried out their first air strikes as part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria. Late on Friday the jets began attacking Isis targets across the border in Syria that were deemed to be threats to Turkey.
After months of hesitation, Turkey agreed last month to take a more active role in the fight against Isis. Turkish jets used smart bombs to attack Isis positions in Syria without crossing into Syrian airspace, and later Turkey granted US jets access to an airbase close to the Syrian border.
Friday’s attacks by Turkey were the first launched as part of the US-led campaign and took place after Turkish and US officials announced they had reached agreement “on the procedures and technical details” of their cooperation, which calls for Turkey to be fully integrated into the coalition air campaign.
Earlier this month, US F-16 jets launched their first air strikes from the Turkish base of Incirlik, just a short distance from targets in northern Syria. Earlier, the US had also begun flying armed drones from Incirlik.
theguardian

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