US and Turkey plan IS-free zone at border

The US and Turkey are finalising plans for a military campaign to push IS out of a strip of Syrian territory along the Turkish border.

A US official said the creation of an “Islamic State-free zone” would ensure greater security and stability in the Turkish-Syrian border region. However, the official said any joint military efforts with Turkey would not include imposition of a no-fly zone.

The US has long rejected Turkish and other requests for a no-fly zone to halt Syrian government air raids, fearing it would draw forces further into the civil war.