Turkey strikes in Syria

The nation’s military joins the U.S.-led coalition bombing Islamic State targets.

CAIRO — Deepening the involvement of a reluctant ally in the fight against the militants of Islamic State, Turkey for the first time sent warplanes to strike targets associated with the jihadist group in Syria, Turkish and U.S. officials said Saturday.

A U.S.-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria for more than a year, but NATO ally Turkey had resisted joining in the effort. Under a deal announced last month, the Ankara government agreed to allow coalition use of Turkish bases, including the sprawling installation at Incirlik.

Since then, U.S. drones and F-16s have flown missions from the base, which lies close to northern Syria.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, traveling in California, confirmed through Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook that Turkish warplanes had been “fully integrated” into the coalition’s air operations.

“We commend Turkey for its participation in counter-ISIL air operations alongside other coalition nations,” Cook said, referring to Islamic State.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the airstrikes began Friday evening. But the statement pointedly described Islamic State as a group that also poses a threat to Turkey’s security, an apparent reference to the Kurdish separatists of the PKK.

When it agreed to participate in the coalition campaign against Islamic State, Turkey launched airstrikes on PKK targets in Turkey and northern Iraq. Kurdish fighters, however, have been the most reliable ground forces allied with the anti-Islamic State coalition.

The targets of the Turkish strikes in Syria were not disclosed, but the semi-official Anatolia news agency said bombs had hit the Islamic State-held town of Manbij in Aleppo province.

Turkey and the U.S. have agreed to carve out an Islamic State-free buffer zone in a northern swath of the province, close to the border with Turkey. But Islamic State fighters have made recent gains in the area, seizing five villages last week.

Emrah Gurel Associated Press TURKISH fighter planes land at Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. The government last month gave the U.S. permission to f ly missions from the base.