Are the Kurds also a target?
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — A half dozen F-16s and about 300 airmen from the 31st Fighter Wing have deployed to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey where they’re expected to conduct airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq.
The jets could be seen departing Aviano Air Base early Sunday. A news release issued later in the day said the jets had arrived at Turkey’s southern air base.
The brief statement said that six F-16s from Aviano and the airmen would be supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. “This follows Turkey’s decision to host the deployment of U.S. aircraft conducting counter-ISIL operations,” it said.
There are no U.S. aircraft permanently stationed at Incirlik, one of the smallest U.S. Air Forces in Europe installations in terms of personnel. But Air Force cargo and refueling planes have called the base a temporary home for years, supporting an array of operations, mostly in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly pushed its NATO ally to allow it to conduct combat operations from Incirlik in the past, but has usually been denied permission to do so. Deny-flight missions over northern Iraq were a notable exception during Operation Northern Watch that began in 1997 and ended with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.