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Turkey Denies Moving S-400 to Incirlik Base

Russian service members sit in the cabins of S-400 missile air defense systems in Moscow (File Photo: Reuters)
Russian service members sit in the cabins of S-400 missile air defense systems in Moscow (File Photo: Reuters)
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Turkey Denies Moving S-400 to Incirlik Base

Russian service members sit in the cabins of S-400 missile air defense systems in Moscow (File Photo: Reuters)
Russian service members sit in the cabins of S-400 missile air defense systems in Moscow (File Photo: Reuters)

Turkey has denied reports that the S-400 missile defense system was moved to Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey.

"The claims on social media that the S-400s were taken to Incirlik are not true," a statement from the Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The Incirlik base, which is under NATO supervision, hosts US nuclear warheads. Washington uses the base under an agreement with Turkey approved by its parliament.

The allegations of transferring the batteries of the Russian system to the base came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome last Sunday.

Turkey refused to get rid of the Russian missiles, as demanded by Washington, which fears that they could be used to collect information about the capabilities of the advanced F-35 warplane.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a joint working group on disagreements would be established with the US, including the issue of the Russian-made advanced S-400 defense system, the Gulenist Group (FETO).

During a parliamentary session, Cavusoglu presented the 2022 budget of the Foreign Ministry and related institutions at the Planning and Budget Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

The minister stated that Turkey remains in contact with the US, adding that the meeting between Erdogan and Biden was in a constructive atmosphere.

Cavusoglu said that the US cooperation with the PKK/YPG, FETO's presence in the US, and its stance on the S-400-related sanctions are incompatible with the spirit of alliance.

He pointed out that relevant institutions and ministries related to forming the working group and discussing issues are carrying out studies.

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities detained 17 people on Wednesday for attacking a visiting US Navy civilian employee in Istanbul.

The group that carried out the act, the Turkey Youth Union (TGB), put a hood over the head of the US civilian in a protest against US policy in the Middle East.

They shared images on Twitter of the incident, in which a group of people chanted anti-US slogans.

"You are our enemy, and you are not wanted here. We will not allow US soldiers to roam free in our lands. Yankee go home," the group said.

The group also criticized US support for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters who are considered terrorists by Ankara.

The 17 people detained had targeted a civilian employee of a US Navy ship that "came to our city as part of a port visit," the governor's office said in a statement. It did not elaborate on any possible charges against the group.

The governor's office said that "the 17 detainees targeted a civilian employee of a US Navy ship who came to our city as part of a visit to the port."

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Taliban Say 2 Americans Held in Afghanistan Were Freed in a Prisoner Exchange

Taliban security personnel stand guard at the site two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP)
Taliban security personnel stand guard at the site two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP)
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Taliban Say 2 Americans Held in Afghanistan Were Freed in a Prisoner Exchange

Taliban security personnel stand guard at the site two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP)
Taliban security personnel stand guard at the site two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP)

A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday.
The deal came as Joe Biden, who oversaw the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, handed power over to returning President Donald Trump. The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the US and Afghanistan, but that likely remains a tall order as most countries in the world still don't recognize their rule.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed the swap, saying two unidentified US citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008.
The family of Ryan Corbett, one American held by the Taliban, confirmed he had been released in a statement. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the US-backed government, was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.
“Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family's statement said. They thanked both Trump and Biden, as well as many government officials, for their efforts in freeing him.
Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar “for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release, and for their visits to Ryan as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan.”
Both CNN and The New York Times, relying on anonymous US officials, identified the second American released as William McKenty, though no other details have emerged about his identity or what he was doing in Afghanistan.
Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his 2008 conviction. The Bureau of Prisons early Tuesday listed Mohammed as not being in their custody.
Mohammed was detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and later taken to the US. A federal jury convicted him on charges of securing heroin and opium that he knew were bound for the United States and, in doing so, assisting terrorism activity.
The Justice Department at the time referred to Mohammed as a violent extremist and “narcotics trafficker” who “sought to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets.” He was the first person to be convicted on US narco-terrorism laws.
Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also went missing in 2022. The Taliban have denied they have Habibi.
Officials in Washington did not respond to requests for comment early Tuesday after Trump's inauguration the day before.
The Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the US and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.
The Taliban have been trying to make inroads in being recognized, in part to escape the economic tailspin caused by its takeover. Billions in international funds were frozen, and tens of thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country and took their money with them.