A counter-disinformation center of the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate rejected reports on social media that a U.S. military base in the country had been struck amid a flurry of missile attacks by the U.S., Israel and Iran in the region since the weekend.
“There are no military bases in Türkiye belonging to any foreign country. The airspace, land territory, maritime jurisdiction areas, and military facilities of the Republic of Türkiye are fully under its sovereignty and control. There has been no attack against our country. Posts seeking to portray Türkiye as a party to regional conflicts constitute a clear act of disinformation. Türkiye’s defense and security structure, in all its components, remains fully operational, and developments are being monitored in real time by the relevant institutions. It is strongly requested that the public refrain from giving credence to unfounded allegations and take into consideration only the official statements,” The Center for Countering Disinformation said in a statement on Monday.
Several social media accounts, including those purportedly operated by Iranian nationals, have claimed that Incirlik Air Base in Türkiye was struck, without specifying the source of the attack. Incirlik base indeed hosted U.S. troops in the past, but it has been a strictly Turkish-controlled base. Türkiye is a NATO ally of the United States, but it also maintains close ties with Iran. It has been critical of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and also Iran’s attacks on the Gulf countries in retaliation. Iran’s attacks over the past two days targeted U.S. bases in the region, though no major casualties were reported so far.
On Saturday, two journalists working for the Anka news agency were detained for filming the Incirlik air base. A video of the base was shared on a social media post by the agency, which said the base appeared silent amid the war. The prosecutor's office in Adana, where the base is located, said it had opened an investigation and ordered the arrests on the grounds that "sharing images of the location, security arrangements and physical structure of military facilities and bases poses a risk to national security."
Following the complaint, Anka halted the broadcast and removed the footage from its website. It also issued a public statement, apologizing "for the misunderstandings caused by our social media posts and live broadcasts conducted as part of our journalistic duties."
