ANKARA, Turkey — US drones and aircraft have begun arriving at a Turkish air base close to the border with Syria, and an "extensive" fight against Daesh (the so-called IS) militants will soon begin, Turkey's foreign minister said Wednesday. Ending years of reluctance, Turkey last week carried out airstrikes against Daesh targets in Syria and agreed to allow US warplanes to use Incirlik Air Base for operations, taking a more front-line role in the US-led coalition's fight against the extremists. US officials said the first armed drone missions out of Turkey began last weekend and that the military was planning to add manned aircraft flights from the country. Officials said that so far, none of the drones had launched airstrikes, but they may begin soon. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the battle would begin soon, but didn't elaborate. "As part of the agreement reached with the United States we have made great strides on the technicalities of Incirlik's use and the US aircraft have started to arrive," the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted him as telling reporters. "Soon we will together start an extensive battle against Daesh." The Turkish minister also told reporters that once the "effective" fight has begun, the ground would become safer for moderate opposition forces fighting Daesh. His comments came following reports that members of the Free Syrian Army who went through a US training program to fight Daesh militants were captured by the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Syria. Diplomats familiar with the coalition plans say cutting off Daesh's access to the Turkish border, over which foreign fighters and supplies have flowed, could be a game-changer in the fight against the insurgents. The core of the US-trained rebels, who number fewer than 60, will be highly equipped and be able to call in close air support when needed, they say. Turkey is meanwhile distrustful of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which has proved a useful US ally in fighting the Daesh, and which controls adjacent territory. Ankara wants the Kurdish guerrillas to advance no further than the Euphrates river, on the eastern fringe of the planned "safe zone". — Agencies
