Turkey to let U.S. bomb Islamic State from Incirlik airbase

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey is to let the U.S. carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State group from a key military base near the Syrian border, U.S. officials have said, according to BBC News.

The agreement, yet to be confirmed by Ankara, follows months of negotiations. The deal comes after Turkey and IS fighters exchanged fire near the Turkey-Syria border, with one soldier killed and two more injured.

32 people were killed on Monday, July 20, in a suicide attack in a Turkish town on the Syrian border blamed on IS.

The agreement was finalized in a phone call between President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday. It was confirmed by U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

The use of the Incirlik airbase broadens the U.S. military's ability to strike IS targets - one US official told the New York Times it was a "game changer".

Once used in raids against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the base is near to Turkey's long border with Syria, and significantly narrows the distance to the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

The White House is yet to comment on the agreement, but White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Obama and Erdogan had agreed to "deepen our cooperation" in their conversation.

The deal marks a step up in Turkey's involvement in the campaign against IS. Ankara has faced criticism at home and abroad for not doing enough against the extremist group, despite being part of the international coalition fighting IS.

Thursday saw a deadly exchange of fire between Islamic State and Turkey near the town of Kilis. IS fighters attacked a Turkish border post, with the Turkish army retaliating with heavy weaponry, killing one of the militants, Turkish officials said.