Turkey vows ‘extensive’ fight against Islamic StateAugust 5, 2015 - 15:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. drones and aircraft have begun arriving at a Turkish air base close to the border with Syria, and an "extensive" fight against Islamic State militants will soon begin, Turkey's foreign minister said Wednesday, Aug 5, according to the Associated Press. Ending years of reluctance, Turkey last week carried out airstrikes against IS targets in Syria and agreed to allow U.S. warplanes to use Incirlik Air Base for operations, taking a more front-line role in the U.S.-led coalition's fight against the extremists. U.S. officials said the first armed drone missions out of Turkey began last weekend and that the military was planning to add manned aircraft flights from the country. Officials said that so far, none of the drones had launched airstrikes, but they may begin soon. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Kuala-Lumpur, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the battle would begin soon, but didn't elaborate. "As part of the agreement reached with the United States we have made great strides on the technicalities of Incirlik's use and the U.S. aircraft have started to arrive," the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted him as telling reporters. "Soon we will together start an extensive battle against Daesh." He was using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. The Turkish minister also told reporters that once the "effective" fight has begun, the ground would become safer for moderate opposition forces fighting IS. His comments came following reports that members of the Free Syrian Army who went through a U.S. training program to fight Islamic State militants were captured by the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Syria. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |