The U.S. began flying armed, unmanned air missions from Turkey in the fight against the Islamic State over the weekend, the Pentagon announced Monday.
Remotely piloted aircraft conducted missions over the weekend from Incirlik Turkish air base, but no ordnance was dropped, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
“At this point, no actual strikes have been conducted, but they are flying armed,” he said. “We continue our dialogue with Turkey to evaluate additional options on the most effective means of countering ISIL.”
Turkey, which had been hesitant to get involved in the campaign against the Islamic State, announced last month that it would allow U.S. air assets to fly missions from Turkey, shortening the time and distance needed to conduct strikes in Syria against the terrorist group.
The U.S. and Turkey also announced the creation of a “safe zone” along the border between Turkey and Syria to drive out the Islamic State and provide a safe haven for Syrian refugees.
All missions so far have used drones but Davis said he expected that the U.S. military would at some point start flying manned missions from the Turkish base.
Davis said that there are no specific plans on which personnel would be sent to the region, but that he expected the number of troops in Turkey to increase.
“Clearly any time you’re bringing additional aircraft in, personnel will go with it,” he said.
The unmanned aircraft used over the weekend were already in the region, Davis said.
