US, Turkey seek to establish Islamic State-free zone

Addis Ababa: The United States and Turkey are finalising plans for a military campaign to push the Islamic State out of a strip of land along the Turkey-Syria border, deepening efforts to halt the extremists' advances.

A U.S. official says the "Islamic State-free zone" aims to ensure greater security and stability along the border. However, the official says any joint military efforts with Turkey would not include the imposition of a no-fly zone.

Turkey has been pushing the U.S. to set up a no-fly zone, though Washington has long denied those requests. Turkey did agree last week to let the U.S. launch strikes against the Islamic State from one of its bases.

The official insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the talks with Turkey.