Alert level rises at Turkey's ?ncirlik Air Base

The alert level at Turkey's ?ncirlik Air Base in the southeastern province of Adana, which houses warplanes for the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has recently been raised to its highest level.

The alert level at the base has occasionally been raised to Threatcon Delta, the highest alarm level, rather than Threatcon Charlie, the next highest level after Delta.

Turkish security officials maintain 24-hour security at its highest level at the base. Shuttles for Turkish personnel have also been using different gates at the base for a while.

Meanwhile, around 1,000 Turkish personnel at the base were given a one-day leave permit on March 11 but recalled to duty later over security intelligence, contrary to assumptions that the implementation was for drill purposes.

Five U.S.-led coalition members in the fight against ISIL, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have deployed their aircrafts at ?ncirlik since last July, as a number of aircrafts have been taking off and surveilling the Syrian border on a daily basis. However, that mobility diminished after Russian warplanes increased their presence in the region.
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