"After close coordination with our Turkish allies, they have reopened their airspace to military aircraft," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. "As a result, counter-ISIL coalition air operations at all air bases in Turkey have resumed," he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. Shortly before the announcement of the base reopening, the Turkish commander of the base was reported detained in connection with the coup attempt. U.S. facilities at Incirlik are still operating on internal power sources, but Cook said the hope is that commercial power will soon be restored. "Base operations have not been affected," Cook said.
On Saturday, Turkish authorities cut off commercial power to the base, which it owns and operates, and ordered the closure of airspace around Incirlik, hours after the government said it had gotten the upper hand over a group within the Turkish military that had attempted a coup on Friday night. Some officials said the move was intended to ensure that no Turkish air assets loyal to the rebels were able to fly out of the base. On Sunday afternoon, the Turkish commander of Incirlik Air Base, 10 military members and a police officer were detained for their alleged role in the attempted coup, The Associated Press reported, quoting a Turkish government official. Some analysts had speculated that the closure of the airspace and cut off of power may in part have been intended to pressure the U.S.
Two A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft taxi down the flight line after landing at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday asked the U.S. to extradite Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan describes as the mastermind behind the failed overthrow. Gulen, who lives in exile in the U.S. and is an advocate for democracy and interfaith diaolgue, denied any involvement. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. would review any request that included "legitimate evidence." Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday that any nation supporting Gulen would be regarded as an "enemy" of Turkey.
Kerry in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, cautioned that "insinuations" of American complicity in the attempted coup would have damaging political ramifications. "He made clear that the United States would be willing to provide assistance to Turkish authorities conducting this investigation, but that public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. The dispute over Gulen threatens to further rock an already troubled relationship between Washington and Ankara, and potentially puts operations at Incirlik in the political balance.
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