US official: 'We want to help the Turks get IS off the border'

A senior US official travelling with Biden said on Wednesday that Washington was providing Turkey's military with air cover, intelligence and advisers in its offensive.

"We want to help the Turks get ISIL off the border" between the two countries, the official told reporters on the condition of anonymity while using an alternative acronym for the IS group. "We'll have close air support if there's an operation," he added.

The United States has made it clear that "we don't and won't support them going north, and they can't without our air cover, so we've put a lid on them moving north," he said.

"I think we've put a lid on the Turks' biggest concern [which] gives us breathing space to make sure the Jarablus operation is done the right way."