A German Tornado jet at the Incirlik base in Turkey. AFP/The Local · 25 Aug 2016, 11:24Published: 25 Aug 2016 11:24 GMT+02:00Updated: 25 Aug 2016 11:24 GMT+02:00Germany's military is preparing to pull out from a Turkish airbase as a row between the two NATO partners escalates, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Thursday. Germany in December agreed to send Tornado surveillance jets and tanker aircraft to the Incirlik base in southern Turkey to aid the multinational coalition fighting the jihadist Islamic State group and currently has about 240 soldiers stationed there. But Turkey has repeatedly refused to allow visits to Incirlik by German politicians, prompting junior coalition partner the Social Democrats (SPD) to demand Germany's withdrawal from the airbase. A German mandate in Incirlik runs out at the end of the year, and the SPD has threatened to block its extension.

Source: The Local August 25, 2016 09:22 UTC