Ending months of reluctance, Turkey last month took on a more front line role in the fight against IS.
Turkish and U.S. officials have concluded “technical
talks” over their cooperation on operations against the Islamic State
group, Turkey’s Foreign Minister said on Tuesday.
Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkish and U.S. military
officials had sealed an agreement concerning “the procedures and
technical details” of their operations. He didn’t provide details, but
he has said an extensive, coordinated operation against the militant
group would start soon.
“The military authorities have signed off,” Mr. Cavusoglu said.
Ending
months of reluctance, Turkey last month took on a more front line role
in the fight against IS. It has carried out raids against IS targets in
Syria and is allowing a key air base close to the Syrian border to be
used in the U.S.-led campaign against the extremists.
The
move follows a suicide bombing in July, blamed on IS, which killed 33
people in the Turkish border city of Suruc near Syria and an attack on
Turkish troops guarding the border, which killed one soldier.
U.S.
F-16 jets launched their first airstrikes from the Turkish air base
Incirlik this month, hitting one or more IS targets. Earlier, the U.S.
also began flying armed drones from Incirlik, which is just a short
distance from targets in northern Syria.
U.S. White
House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said earlier that Turkish and U.S.
officials have been engaged in talks on deepening cooperation on
implementing a “strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy” IS and
improving security along Turkey’s border with Syria.
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