Following the failure of the takeover, Turkish authorities claimed the putschists got crucial support from Incirlik. The news emerged that the mutineers had refueled “seized” F-16s from two airborne tankers located in the Turkish sector of Incirlik base.
On Saturday, the movement in and out of the base was blocked until the end of anti-coup raids. The power supply of the base has been also cut off. The US officials said that the measures were taken to prevent those engaged in the revolt from fleeing Turkey.
Meanwhile, the situation in Turkey, and at the Incirlik in particular, remains unstable with reports stating that 42 helicopters have gone missing from the base, causing concerns that the American nuclear arsenal is in danger.
On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry expressed hope that the recent events won’t affect joint military operations in longer perspective. He also addressed the hurdles that US personnel experienced in the aftermath of the revolt, as “there may have been some refueling that took place with the Turkish Air Force with planes that were flying in the coup itself.”
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook claimed that anti-Daesh operations had been resumed, adding that power outages don’t affect the American part of the facility that is supplied with energy by its own generators.
Many experts speculate that the massive crackdown on military that is ongoing in Turkey at the moment would eventually lead to Ankara’s fall out from the anti-Daesh struggle or NATO.
However, Western officials remain optimistic. According to a US official talking to WSJ, the military top-level leadership “understands the importance of the alliance” and will likely stay in power so cooperation will return to normal soon.
