US drone strike targets ISIL in Syria

The United States has conducted its first drone strike in northern Syria from a base in Turkey, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, launching what Ankara said would soon be a "comprehensive battle" against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters there.

A spokesman in Washington said the raid by a drone was launched on Monday from the Incirlik air base near the southern city of Adana in Turkey, a U.S. ally with the second-largest armed forces in NATO. Preparations were underway for strikes in Syria by manned U.S. warplanes.

Until recently, only reconnaissance drones flew missions from Incirlik.

Turkey agreed to open its air bases to U.S. and coalition strike aircraft last month — a major policy change after years of reluctance to take a frontline role against the fighters on its borders.

Ankara and Washington have been working on plans to provide air cover for a group of U.S.-trained Syrian rebels and jointly sweep ISIL from a safe zone in Syria stretching about 50 miles along the border with Turkey.

"As part of our agreement with the U.S., we have made progress regarding the opening up of our bases, particularly Incirlik," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told state broadcaster TRT.

"We're seeing that manned and unmanned American planes are arriving, and soon we will launch a comprehensive battle against Islamic State all together," he said during a trip to Malaysia.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem was quoted by state television on Wednesday as saying Syria supported efforts to combat ISIL, provided they were coordinated with Damascus.

"For us in Syria, there is no moderate opposition and immoderate opposition. Whoever carries weapons against the state is a terrorist," he was quoted as saying during a visit to ally Iran, adding that Damascus had been informed about the presence of the U.S.-trained rebels.

"The United States contacted us before they sent in this group and said they are fighting against Daesh [ISIL] and not the Syrian army at all," he said. "We said we support any effort to combat Daesh in coordination and consultation with the Syrian government. Otherwise it will be a breach of Syrian sovereignty."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, informing him of Turkey's latest military operations and reiterating his view that there can be no peace in Syria without the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, sources in Erdogan's office said.

Tehran, which has stood by Assad through more than four years of civil war, said it would present the United Nations with its own peace plan for Syria.

Russia, another Assad ally, said it has not been able to agree on an approach to fighting ISIL after its foreign minister met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for the second time in recent days.

Diplomats familiar with the U.S.-led coalition's plans say cutting off ISIL's access to the Syria-Turkey border, over which foreign fighters and supplies have flowed, could be a game changer in the fight against the insurgents.

The core of the U.S.-trained rebels, who number fewer than 60, will be well equipped and able to call in close air support when needed, they say.

But major challenges remain. Washington said on Tuesday it had indications some of the rebels trained by its military were captured by fighters from Al-Qaeda's Syria wing, Jabhat Al-Nusra (the Nusra Front), underscoring the vulnerability of a group deployed to the battlefield only in recent weeks.

Turkey is, meanwhile, distrustful of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which has proved a useful U.S. ally in fighting ISIL and controls adjacent territory. Ankara wants the Kurdish fighters to advance no farther than the Euphrates River, on the eastern fringe of the planned safe zone.

Turkey launched several airstrikes against ISIL fighters in northern Syria just under two weeks ago after one of its soldiers was killed in cross-border fire. It also carried out near-simultaneous attacks on camps belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

Turkey fears Kurdish fighters could build on Syrian Kurdish gains and move toward creation of a Kurdish state encompassing Iraqi, Syrian and Turkish territory.

Opponents have accused Erdogan of using the war against ISIL as a cover for preventing Kurdish gains, pointing out the airstrikes against the PKK have so far been heavier than those against ISIL.

Turkish officials deny the campaign against ISIL is a cover, saying the offensive is a joint operation with the coalition and will begin in earnest only when Washington and its allies are ready.

"There are other countries within the coalition ... interested in joining, such as Britain and France, while among the countries in the region, there is a possibility that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan will take part," said Cavusoglu.

"Islamic State poses the biggest threat to Turkey both because it is right on the other side of our border and also due to the flow of foreign fighters. It has to be eliminated," he said.

ISIL has seized large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq in its drive to create a caliphate.

Erdogan has said a safe zone created by pushing out ISIL could allow 1.7 million refugees in Turkey to start going home. U.S. officials say this is not the main aim, while the United Nations has warned against calling it a safe zone unless the protection of civilians can be guaranteed.

Reuters