Turkish Air Force

Nearly 1,000 ditches and a large number of improvised explosives and mines left by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in al-Bab have decelerated the entry of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) into the city in northern Syria as part of the Euphrates Shield Operation, which started in late August, according to Turkish security forces.

Three soldiers were killed and six were wounded in an operation against outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the eastern province of Hakkari early on Dec. 2, Doğan News Agency has reported.

An air strike "thought to have been carried" out by Syrian government forces killed three Turkish soldiers and wounded 10 others, one of them seriously, early on Nov. 24, the Turkish Armed Forces has announced.

Three Turkish Air Force formations comprising six fighter jets, as well as a lone CN-235 transport plane were chased off by Greek aircraft on Friday after violating national air space.

The advance of Ankara-backed Syrian rebels was hampered due to resistance by jihadists in northern Syria, the Turkish army said in a statement on Nov. 1. 

A Turkish air force commander has denied allegations that 50 German-made warplanes in the inventory of the Turkish Air Forces (TSK) were buried right after World War II.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is due to visit Turkey on Oct. 21, after Ankara and Washington agreed on Turkey's participation in coalition forces' aerial campaign in the Mosul offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).  

Carter will travel to Ankara as part of a weeklong Middle East and Europe trip, according to the Pentagon.   

Turkey and the United States have reached an agreement in which Turkish warplanes will join an ongoing operation to capture Mosul, the prime minister has said, adding that Turkey's F-16 Fighting Falcons would be called for duty by the Kuwait-based command center if required.

Nine Turkish Air Force jet pilots who were detained and then released as part of probes against Gülenists were re-assigned and are participating in aerial operations after the military said it was experiencing a personnel deficit due to major suspensions in the institution.   

Pilot Maj. Esra Özatay has been appointed to the commander of the "Türk Yıldızları" (Turkish Stars) air acrobatics team's 134th Squadron, becoming the first female military officer to hold such post in the history of the Turkish Air Force.