An MV-22 Osprey attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163 launches from the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island.

Turkey has granted the United States access to its airbases for the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), including the Incirlik airfield in the country’s south, a senior U.S. defense official said Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse.

“Details of usage are still being worked out,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The Turkish decision comes as Syrian Kurdish fighters are engaged in fierce fighting with ISIS militants in an effort to maintain the Syrian border town of Kobane under their control.

ISIS launched an offensive to take over Kobane in mid-September where fighting has killed a reported 500 people and forced 200,000 others to flee across the border into Turkey.

U.N. officials have warned of a possible massacre in Kobane, if the militants capture the city which they have been attacking for the past three weeks.

 
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