Tabqa

Tabqa's military airfield is located five kilometers from the center of the Syrian town of Tabqaand just 40 kilometers from Raqqa. The military airfield may greatly increase the effectiveness of the 2017 operation against Raqqa and serve as an alternative to Turkey's Incirlik base. By April 2017 American engineers were working at the military base in the Syrian town of Tabqa so that its airfield could be used during an operation to liberate Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the terrorist group Daesh (ISIS/ISIL). The US sent a group of engineers to the military base in Tabqa, which was recently liberated from Daesh terrorists, to deal with conducting construction and repair work there. A group of 20 American engineers was working to restore the operation of the Tabqa base, which is expected to be open by the end of April 2017.

Ankara could forbid Washington from using its Incirlik airbase in the event that there was cooperation between Washington and the Kurds during operations against Daesh. Ankara also considered closing the country's airspace to for US aircraft. The United States, along with several other countries, used the Incirlik base for aircraft involved in the anti-Daesh campaign in Syria.

Tabqa Air Base

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Overview of the Tabqa Air Base, 28 July 1988

Close up of the Tabqa Air Base, 28 July 1988