Kerry heads to Ankara as Turkey refuses bases for IS strikes

US Secretary of State John Kerry is to fly to Ankara tomorrow for urgent talks after Turkey refused to allow a US-led coalition to use its air bases to attack jihadists in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
Turkey, Washington's key ally in the region and the only Muslim member of the core 10-nation coalition against the Islamic State, is also refusing to take part in combat operations against the militants, a government official told AFP today.
Kerry will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its new prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu tomorrow in the hope of shoring up support for air strikes.

But on the eve of the visit, a Turkish official told AFP, "Turkey will not be involved in any armed operation but will entirely concentrate on humanitarian operations."
"Incirlik will be used only for logistical purposes and humanitarian assistance", said the source, referring to a southern air base used for NATO operations in Iraq.
The decision echoes Turkey's refusal to act as a launch pad for the US invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003, which triggered a crisis between the allies.

Turkey -- and in particular the former foreign policy chief Davutoglu -- has come under fire for indirectly encouraging the formation of the Islamic State because of its support of Islamist opponents of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and its loose control of its borders.

But Ankara vehemently denies its strategy has backfired.
Kerry -- who had talks in Saudi Arabia today -- is on a regional tour to drum up support from 10 key Arab nations and Turkey, following President Barack Obama's announcement of an offensive against Islamic State jihadists that will include air strikes in Syria.