Turkey İntent On Helping Anti-Daesh Forces İn Syria: Us

Turkey has committed to assisting forces in northern Syria in their fight against Daesh, the White House said Thursday.



"There is a coalition of fighters that have operated on the ground in northern Syria, and they have operated quite effectively against ISIL forces in Syria," spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.



"What the Turks have committed to doing is contributing to that success even further. So we certainly welcome their willingness and their desire to do that," Earnest added.



Turkey announced July 24 that the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition could use Turkish bases, including a strategic air base in southeast Turkey, to carry out airstrikes against Daesh.



The Turkish foreign ministry said Wednesday that the Incirlik Air Base is ready for use in the campaign.



Spokesman Tanju Bilgic told reporters in Turkey that a Cabinet resolution to allow the use of the base by coalition aircraft "has matured", meaning Incirlik "could be used any time, whenever needed".



But he added that the operation concerns only Daesh and does not include air support for the Kurdish People's Protection Unit's (YPG), the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), in Syria.



Suspected of having links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the YPG has been one of the most effective forces at combatting Daesh in north Syria.  



At the State Department, spokesman Mark Toner said coalition support for fighters in Northern Syria includes a broad array of groups, including Kurdish and Arab fighters. 



"That includes Syrian Kurds as part of that group as well as Syrian Arabs. But it's not fair to say it's just one group," he said. 



Toner added that Turkey's recent bombing of the PKK has not complicated Washington's relations with the PYD. 



Turkey recently launched airstrikes against Daesh and PKK militants in Syria and Iraq. Turkish jets bombed PKK camps in northern Iraq for the first time in more than two years last Friday, and again hit PKK targets on Sunday and Tuesday.



The airstrikes came as Turkey was hit by a wave of violence following a July 20 suicide bomb attack by a suspected Daesh supporter that killed 32 activists in Suruc. - Washington DC