NATO says assistance to ally Türkiye continues after deadly quakes

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - NATO on Thursday said it continues to provide assistance to ally Türkiye after powerful earthquakes that hit the country's southern region.

"Alliance military transport aircraft are facilitating the rapid movement of essential support to the worst hit #earthquake areas," NATO Air Command said on Twitter.

It added that support includes search and rescue teams with dogs, emergency personnel as well as supplies.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said allies were mobilizing support "in the aftermath of this terrible earthquake."

The NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) had also conveyed its sympathies to the quake victims.

On Tuesday, NATO member states lowered their flags to half-staff at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels to show solidarity with Ankara.

More than 16,000 people were killed and over 64,000 injured by two strong earthquakes which jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, latest official figures showed.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited the quake-affected regions on Wednesday and Thursday, has pledged to rebuild the region within a year as search and rescue efforts continue uninterruptedly.

A three-month state of emergency to speed up aid operations entered into force on Thursday.