ANKARA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Incirlik air base in southern Turkey was not used in the U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Saturday.
Turkey was informed of the attack in advance, Bozdag said in a tweet on his twitter account.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Turkish Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar spoke before the strikes, he said.
Bozdag called for an end to the "arm wrestling" by major powers in Syria to avoid more bloodshed.
The U.S.-led coalition has been using Incirlik air base located in Turkey's southern province of Adana in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants.
Turkey, a NATO member, has voiced support to the U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria under pretext of punishing Syrian government for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
Turkish Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on Saturday called on the international community to unite to avoid chemical attacks in future, while emphasizing the importance of seeking a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Earlier Saturday, the U.S., along with its allies Britain and France, launched missile strikes on Syria over allegations that the Syrian government used poison gas in an attack on the rebel-held town of Douma near the capital Damascus on April 7. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied the allegations.
