Turkey bombs Islamic State targets in Syria

[Somerset Simon]

From the BBC Website - it looks like Turkey are now aligning with the US.

Turkish planes have for the first time carried out air strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria.

Turkish police also raided more than 100 properties in Istanbul, arresting 251 people linked to IS, the office of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

On Thursday, Turkish forces exchanged fire with IS fighters near the Syrian border. One Turkish soldier was killed.

Turkey will now let the US launch air strikes against IS from the Incirlik air base, US officials have said.

The raids in Istanbul alone involved 5,000 officers. Members of the youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of a far-left group were also arrested.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said there were also arrests in the cities of Ankara and Izmir and in Sanliurfa province, near the Syrian border.

In a separate statement, Mr Davutoglu's office said that F-16 jets had hit three IS targets in Syria.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33646314

[JohnF]

I think the IS link is a little bit of a smokescreen here.  No-one has published a breakdown (that I've read) of the arrest figures but I'm willing to bet that there has been a far higher number of Kurds arrested compared to IS members/sympathisers.

Or maybe I'm just being cynical...

JF

[kevin3]

I'm with you on that John, I think situations are being created for the benefit of one man, while the "opposition" bicker with each other.
So many chances for change being missed.

[kayakebab]

 Some interesting articles about ISIL being manufactured by CIA...that wouldn't surprise me.

[JohnF]

Not just the CIA...  I think you have to remember that IS, as it is known now, partially evolved from a raggety arsed collection of Syrian rebels who were being aided by more than one Western (and ME) country.

JF

[kayakebab]

Yes, very true.

[apollo]

Some interesting articles about ISIL being manufactured by CIA...that wouldn't surprise me.

If this is true , it proves that they have very short memories. It was not that long ago when they were "encouraging" the Taliban.

[Colwyn]

I think the IS link is a little bit of a smokescreen here.  No-one has published a breakdown (that I've read) of the arrest figures but I'm willing to bet that there has been a far higher number of Kurds arrested compared to IS members/sympathisers.

Or maybe I'm just being cynical...

JF

I've just heard a BBC correspondent who, if not quite cynical, was certainly sceptical about recent events. In particular, he suspected that US use of Incirlik military airfield came with "strings". I wonder what those might be? Perhaps, "You can fly from here as long as you target Assad's forces"?

[KKOB]

Given that the Americans built the base in 1951 and have been there ever since, currently with about 5,000 staff on base, I can't think what "strings" the Turks are attaching to their latest "permission".   

Bear in mind that Incirlik Air Base was the main U-2 flight base in this entire region until 1 May 1960, when a volley of about 14 Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missiles shot down the U-2 of the American CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers near Sverdlovsk, Russia, a test site in the Soviet Union's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) program.

[kayakebab]

The string is that for a long time Turkey have wanted a no mans land between the 2 countries, so I've read anyway.