ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The US Department of Defense announced Wednesday it would deploy additional warplanes to the Turkish Incirlik Air Base as part its anti-ISIS coalition.

Speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook announced the US had decided to send an additional 12 F15C warplanes to Incirlik.

Cook said the F-15C fighters will conduct combat air control and air patrols in Turkish airspace in response to a Turkish government request.

"We also announced that we will deploy additional F-15Es to Incirlik as part of our counter-ISIL operations," he said using an alternative acronym for ISIL. "Details on the number and the arrival time frame of those aircraft are still being determined. We expect they will be arriving soon."

Speaking to journalists in the southern coastal town of Belek, Antalya province Tuesday ahead of next week’s G20 summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is prepared to open other airbases for the anti-ISIS coalition as part of an escalation in the campaign against the group, the Turkish Anadolu Agency reported.

“We need to clearly express that there are some individual and collective steps that Turkey will take against any terrorist organization, particularly Daesh,” the agency quoted Erdogan as saying using Daesh, the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

Erdogan added: “If it is necessary, they [the US-led coalition] can use also other air bases against Daesh. We are determined to fight against the group."

Rudaw