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Turkey's Erdogan Threatens to Close 2 US Military Bases

Agence France-Presse

   ISTANBUL - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday threatened
   to close two strategic military bases used by the United States in
   Turkey, after Washington warned of sanctions over Ankara buying Russian
   arms.

   "If necessary, we can close Incirlik and we can close Kurecik," Erdogan
   on the pro-government A Haber television channel. The two bases sit on
   Turkey's southwest coast, near the border with Syria.

   Erdogan has regularly raised this possibility in the past, at times of
   tension between the two countries.

   The U.S. Air Force uses the airbase at Incirlik for raids on positions
   held by the so-called Islamic State group in Syria. The Kurecik base
   houses a major NATO radar station.

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