WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US military is deploying A-10 ground attack aircraft to the Incirlik airbase in Turkey, Department of Defense spokesperson Peter Cook told reporters on Tuesday.
"There are A-10s arriving at and this is part of a regular rotation that was planned," Cook said of the twin-engine aircraft designed for close air support known as "tank killers."
About a dozen of the planes arrived to Turkey over the weekend and are expected to fly missions against ISIL terrorists in Iraq and Syria, according to media reports.
On August 12, the United States launched the first manned aircraft from the Incirlik airbase to strike ISIL targets under a deal reached by US President Barack Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July.