A U.S-led coalition battling Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria has reportedly postponed a plan to expand its wide-scale airstrike campaign along the Turkish border.
The delay is due to the inability of Turkish and U.S. officials to agree on the parameters of the coalition airstrikes, which are expected to take place west of the besieged town of Kobane. That coalition, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, wants to start dropping bombs on Islamic extremists operating in that part of northern Syria.
A senior Obama administration official told The Washington Post that the coalition’s airstrike campaign does not align with the geographic priorities of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr. Erdogan is aware that activity near the border Turkey shares with Syria could evoke the ire of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and cause a humanitarian disaster, prompting hundreds of thousands of refugees to seek refuge in Turkey, The Post reported.
Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said Monday that the U.S. military would continue to work with its coalition allies to destroy Islamic State targets in Syria.
Those allies conducted 15 airstrikes in Syria and 11 airstrikes in Iraq between Saturday morning and Monday morning, according to a statement issued by the Combined Joint Task Force, which oversees public affairs for the coalition. The majority of the airstrikes over Syria took place near Kobane.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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