Turkish Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar will meet Gen. Joseph Dunford at Incirlik airbase near the southern Turkish city of Adana. Turkey’s senior army officer will meet his U.S. counterpart on Friday, military sources confirmed.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a flight carrying Gen. Dunford landed at the base Friday morning. A joint news briefing is expected following the meeting.
Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said on Thursday the military heads of the two NATO allies would exchange views on a possible joint operation to recapture the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Daesh terror group.
Ankara has repeatedly called for a joint operation rather than using the PKK/PYD terror group to sweep Daesh from the city. Though the Obama administration opposed the plan, new U.S. President Donald Trump has been considering sending ground troops to Syria with the support of the Turkish military.