CAIRO: Saudi Arabia confirmed late on Saturday it would send aircraft to Nato-member Turkey's Incirlik air base for the fight against the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told pan-Arab Al Arabiya television that the kingdom was committed to stepping up the fighting against IS and that the move was part of those efforts.

Saudi Arabia has resumed its participation in air strikes against IS in recent weeks and United States Defence Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday welcomed its commitment to expand its role.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Yeni Safak newspaper on Saturday that Saudi had carried out inspections at the air base in preparation to sending aircraft.