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Turkish army resumes anti-ISIL air strikes in Syria
 Turkish warplanes hit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets in west of Salva town in Syria late on Nov. 11, resuming its flights in Syrian airspace after more than two weeks of suspension. 18 members of the ISIL were killed in strikes targeting two buildings, two command centers and a vehicle of the group, according to security sources who asked to remain anonymous. Resumption of flights by Turkish Air Forces in Syria came after consensus between Ankara and Moscow during a meeting of Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar in Russia on Nov. 1, sources told the Hürriyet Daily News. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) offensive on Al-Bab, with the backing of the Turkish military, was slowed down after a Syrian warning about the use of its airspace on Oct. 26. Since then, neither Turkish nor other U.S.-led coalition planes have been able to operate in the region because of the Russian-made Syrian air defense. “The Americans had concerns about agitating the Syrian regime or Russia. But they agreed to work on the planning, and hopefully they will give the air support we have requested within a week for Al-Bab,” another source earlier told Daily News after a meeting between. Gen. Akar and General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in Ankara on Nov. 6. Akar has informed Dunford about his talks with the Russian Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov on Nov. 1 in Moscow, where the Turks assured the Russians that the Al-Bab operation would not threaten the outskirts of Aleppo and would be limited to taking the town and other areas around it from ISIL. The Turkish Air Forces launched their last airstrike in Syria on Oct. 22, targeting ISIL positions. Since then, Turkey had not launched further strikes as Syria’s Russian-made air defense system was activated to cover the region under the Euphrates Shield operation. Posted by: Steve White 2016-11-13 |
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