WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Electricity to the air base used by the US-led coalition has been disconnected since Saturday, when it was cut off during a coup attempt against the Turkish government by elements of the Turkish Armed Forces.
"I don’t believe so," Toner stated when asked if the Turkish government deliberately decided not to fully restore power to the Incirlik airbase. "I don’t have a determination one way or the other."
The Incirlik base is running on backup power generators but the United States would have to look at alternatives when the generators run out, Toner noted.
On Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook said during a press briefing that US operations at Incirlik are continuing and the US military take whatever steps are necessary to mitigate impact there on the air campaign against Daesh.
In July 2015, Turkey agreed to open up Incirlik to US manned and unmanned aircraft to conduct anti-terror operations in Syria against Daesh positions.
The terror group, also known as Daesh in Arabic, is outlawed in the Russian Federation among a host of other nations.