Saudi Arabia Stations Warplanes at Turkish Airbase – Defense Ministry

Saudi Arabia has deployed its combat aircraft at Turkey’s Incirlik airbase near the Syrian border, an adviser to the country’s defense ministry confirmed Saturday.

DUBAI (Sputnik) – Last week, Riyadh said it stood ready to deploy ground troops to Syria to fight the Islamic State (Daesh) jihadist group.

"Saudi warplanes were stationed at the Incirlik airbase in Turkey to take part in the international coalition against Islamic State's air campaign," Brig. Ahmed Asiri said as quoted by the Al Arabiya network.

He said the number of fighter jets used in the mission would depend on "objectives outlined by the coalition."

Asiri pointed out that the Kingdom’s force does not include ground troops.

"Saudi aircraft in Turkey are not part of any bilateral agreement, but are within the framework of anti-terrorist actions of the international coalition," he stressed.

The US-led coalition has carried out airstrikes against the group in Syria since mid-2014 without approval from Damascus or the United Nations.

The Incirlik base is 5 miles north of the Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border.