Saudi Arabia has sent aircraft to NATO-member Turkey’s Incirlik air base for the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri, adviser in the office of Saudi Arabia’s minister of defence, told Al Arabiya television on Saturday that the kingdom was committed to stepping up the fighting against ISIL and the move was part of those efforts.
He also said the current presence in the air base was limited to aircraft and no ground troops had been sent.
“What is present now is aircraft that are part of the Saudi Arabian forces,” Assiri said.
Saudi Arabia has resumed its participation in air strikes against ISIL in recent weeks and US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on Thursday welcomed its commitment to expand its role.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Yeni Safak newspaper on Saturday that Saudi Arabia had carried out inspections at the air base in preparation to sending aircraft.
Earlier this month, Riyadh said it is prepared to deploy ground troops to Syria to fight ISIL if US-led coalition leaders agree to the offer.
Russia warned last week that foreign troops sent into the nearly five-year Syrian conflict could ignite a world war.
Source: Aljazeera
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