Alwaght- A commander of Turkey’s Incirlik airbase, which houses United States nuclear weapons, has been detained by Turkish authorities accused of complicity in the attempted coup.
The senior Turkish military commander General Bekir Ercan Van, was arrested along with over a dozen lower ranking officers at the base. Turkish government sources have confirmed that the general has been detained. Turkey’s Incirlik airbase is used both by the Turkish Air Force and NATO forces.
Earlier on Saturday, movement in and out of the base in southern Turkey was blocked by local military authorities.
According to an agreement between Ankara and Washington, Incirlik is used by NATO and stores US tactical nuclear weapons. The airbase is also being used by the US to supposedly launch airstrikes on ISIS in neighboring Syria, which reportedly ceased following Friday’s military coup attempt.
On Sunday, following the ensuing turmoil after the failed military coup in Turkey, the United States has cut power to country's Incirlik Air Base, where its strategic nuclear weapons are deployed.
The US consulate in Turkey confirmed on Saturday that the Airbase located in the İncirlik quarter of the Turkish city of Adana has been closed. Local authorities are preventing movement onto and off the base, according to the consulate, which warned American citizens to avoid the air base until normal operations are restored.
In the wake of the failed military uprising, the Turkish authorities have been conducting “anti-coup” operations at the base. Some members of the Turkish Air Force have been arrested on suspicion of having supported the coup. Authorities have also claimed that at least one of the planes “hijacked” by the coup plotters was refueled at Incirlik.
Ankara has arrested some 6,000 people believed to have been involved in the attempted coup and the number “could surpass 6,000,” as the “cleansing” operation is ongoing, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in a television interview.
Addressing his supporters after the first victims of the uprising had been laid to rest, Trukish President Reccep Tayyib Erdogan said on Saturday that the parliament may discuss reintroducing the death penalty in Turkey.
