US orders families of army and diplomats out of Turkey

[Anthea]

US orders families out of south and west Turkey over security

The US says it has ordered families of defence personnel and diplomats out of parts of Turkey amid security fears.

Dependants are being moved out of Adana, Izmir and Mugla provinces.

The US European Command said the decision was not permanent but "intended to mitigate the risk to [Department of Defense] elements and personnel, including family members".

Once a beacon of stability, Turkey has entered a period of high tension and violence.

Key cities have been struck by a spate of deadly bombings. Meanwhile Turkey has been fighting Kurdish militants in its restive east and struggling to prevent violence spreading from across its border with Syria.

The US State Department has warned all Americans against travel to south-eastern Turkey.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the decision had been made out of an "abundance of caution".

"There's no specific threat that triggered this but a broader decision based on what we've seen in the region," he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting the US this week to attend President Barack Obama's nuclear security summit.

But rarely have relations between the US and one of its key Nato allies been so poor as those between Washington and Ankara, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus - with each other's response to the Syrian crisis a particular point of friction.

Some 5,000 US service personnel and dependants are based at the Incirlik air base in the southern city of Adana - from which the US launches air strikes on fighters from so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35921053