US suspends strikes against IS group from Turkey base

The US military has suspended air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq from a base in southern Turkey, a US official said.

Operations from the Incirlik air base were suspended because of the closure of the airspace used by the missions, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

US forces "were adjusting flight operations in the counter-ISIL campaign to minimize any effects on the campaign," he said, apparently suggesting missions against the Islamic State (IS) group - also known as ISIL - could launch from other locations.

The Turkish authorities imposed a security lockdown at Incirlik on Saturday following the attempted coup d'etat by military officers overnight.

US forces use Incirlik to launch bombing missions against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq. They have notably deployed drones, Prowler electronic warplanes and A-10 ground attack aircraft from the base.