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Sunday 14 Feb 2016 - 13:57 Makkah mean time-5-5-1437
Brig-Gen Ahmed al-Asiri (AP file image)
Riyadh (IINA) – Saudi Arabia has deployed warplanes to a Turkish airbase in order to "intensify" its operations against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, a senior Saudi defense official said.
"The Saudi Kingdom now has a presence at Incirlik airbase in Turkey," Brig-Gen Ahmed al-Asiri was quoted as saying by Al-Arabiya TV channel late on Saturday.
"Saudi warplanes are present with their crews to intensify aerial operations along with missions launched from bases in Saudi Arabia," Asiri said without elaborating.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that Saudi jets would be deployed at Incirlik, and that the two countries could participate in ground operations against IS in Syria.
Asiri said the decision to deploy an unspecified number of jets to Turkey followed a meeting of members of the US-led coalition against IS in Brussels, during which they decided to step up their fight against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq.
He stressed that Saudi Arabia has made its decision in coordination with the coalition, pointing out that a ground operation is being planned.
"There is a consensus among coalition forces on the need for ground operations and the Kingdom is committed to that," Asiri said.
"Military experts will meet in the coming days to finalize the details, the task force and the role to be played by each country," he added.
AB/IINA
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