WASHINGTON
The anti-Daesh coalition was able to gain a "very positive impact" when Turkey allowed the use of the Incirlik Air Base, the chief of staff for forces fighting Daesh said Friday.
Marine Brig. Gen. Kevin Killea said coalition forces were supporting anti-Daesh forces that were "credible, reliable partners" in the fight against Daesh in northern Syria.
"And that includes Syrian Kurds, that includes Sunni-Arab fighters, and it includes the moderate opposition forces from Syria, many of whom we've vetted, so those are called vetted Syrian opposition," he said during a Pentagon briefing.
"The YPG for the coalition against Daesh has been a very credible and reliable partner as part of the Syrian-Kurdish group that comprises anti-Daesh forces," according to Killea.
The YPG is the armed wing of the pro-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Union Party.
Although Turkey considers the PYD -- an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, U.S. and EU -- the U.S. has made a distinction between the two groups, saying they welcomed the groups -- including the PYD -- who fight Daesh in the region.
Killea was repeatedly asked whether coalition forces were able to cooperate with the YPG on flights from Turkish bases. He said the coalition had recently began talks with Turkey "to better fold them into the operational activities of the combined joint task force against Daesh".
In Iraq, Killea said Iraq Security Forces (ISF) are currently trying to isolate Daesh's lines of communication and their ability to reinforce fighters. "The clearing stage" was next, he said.
Operations in Ramadi, in many ways, are "going along as planned", he said, with ISF attacks on an area housing Daesh forces that have been settled for months.
