FM : U.S. fails to give air cover for Turkey’s fight with IS
By Kamila Aliyeva
The United States is reluctant to provide direct assistance to Turkey’s operations inside Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with The Washington Post.
“They are using my air base, and they are not giving air cover,” Cavusoglu said of the US, which launches much of its own air operations against the “Islamic State” (IS) terrorist group in Syria from Turkey’s Incirlik base.
This week, Turkish and Russian warplanes for the first time flew joint strike missions in support of Turkish troops advancing on the IS positions in and around the northern Syrian town of Al-Bab, Cavusoglu added.
In late August 2016, Turkey, with the support of the coalition aircraft, launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus in northern Syria from the IS militants. The operation was dubbed the Euphrates Shield.
Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives.
Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The IS, YPG and PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.
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