Istanbul, Oct 7 () - U.S. Air Forces Central Command has started deploying search and rescue helicopters and airmen at Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır Air Base in order to help with recovery operations in neighboring Iraq and Syria, it has announced.
Small detachments of aircraft started arriving at Diyarbakır province on Oct. 5, in order to help Turkey with its rescue efforts in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The aircraft will be based in Diyarbakır, home to the 8th Air Wing of the Turkish Air Force.
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and the commander of U.S. European Command, Gen. Phillip Breedlove, has said the mission will be temporary.
“We will be guests of the government of Turkey at Diyarbakir Air Base. There are no plans for a permanent U.S. presence at this location … This marks yet another successful cooperative effort between the Turkish and U.S. militaries” Breedlove said.
U.S. Air Force also released a video on its İncirlik Air Base website showing the arrival of the aircraft.
