Iraqi pilots (click here) who have joined the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) terrorist group operating in Syria are training members of the group to fly in three captured fighter jets, the opposition UK-based Syrian Observatory said on Friday.
“It was the first time the militant group had taken to the air,” it added.
ISIL has been flying the planes over the captured al-Jarrah Syrian military airport east of Aleppo, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory, citing witnesses in Syria’s northern Aleppo province.
“They have trainers, Iraqi officers who were pilots before for (former Iraqi president) Saddam Hussein,” he said.
“People saw the flights, they went up many times from the airport and they are flying in the skies outside the airport and coming back.”...
I have absolutely no doubt Turkey is paying attention of who is within it's borders and who is attempting to cross the border shared with Syria. The government of Turkey should be concerned about it's borders. For a very long time Turkey should be concerned about it's borders. For a very long time Turkey wasn't intereted in that border except for PKK movements.
A lone American airman that was listed on the no fly list shows up within Turkey's borders and may have been moving toward Syria's border should expect to be approached by the Turkish government. If he thought he could just waltz into Turkey and move about with immunity he was very mistaken.
This was completely obvious that Mr. Long would be met with concern by the government of Turkey.
The governments of the world are fully aware Daesh would like to obtain an air force and preferably one with nuclear capacity or to drop barrel bombs to match the capacity of the Syrian military.
There is someone in Turkey who would be more than willing to hear from Mr. Long.
Ambassador John R. Bass. John Bass (click here) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 17, 2014 as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. A career Senior Foreign Service officer, he served as Executive Secretary from 2012 to 2014, and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012.
