US Defense Secretary Ash Carter urged Turkey on Tuesday to do more to help destroy the Daesh militants as he kicked off a tour of the Middle East that aims to drum up regional support for the military campaign. Speaking during a visit to the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, Carter said Ankara needed to better control its border with Syria, particularly a roughly 60-mile (98-km) stretch believed to be used by Daesh for illicit trade and for shuttling foreign fighters back and forth. "Turkey has an enormous role to play," said Carter, on his first trip to Incirlik as defense secretary. "We appreciate what they're doing. We want them to do more." That includes Turkish forces joining "in the air and the ground as appropriate," Carter told reporters traveling with him. "The single most important contribution that their geography makes necessary is the control of their own border." Incirlik has grown more important in the US-led campaign of air strikes against Daesh, with 59 US, Turkish, Qatari and German aircraft now operating out of the base, up from about 15 from all coalition countries at the beginning of September, US officials said. Around 45 aircraft are from the United States and include both manned and unmanned. They conduct refueling, intelligence and strike missions, officials said. On Monday, speaking after a meeting of the US National Security Council at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama said Carter's trip to the region aimed to secure greater military contributions from allies in the campaign against Daesh. Carter did not give details of the requests to allies but said different countries' contributions could include strike aircraft, intelligence flights, transport aircraft, help in controlling borders and helping US efforts to train troops.
