TURKEY is holding 50 American nuclear bombs "hostage" at an air base near Syria, a senior US official has claimed.

Tensions between Ankara and Washington are at boiling point after Recep Tayyip Erdogan's troops invaded northern Syria after Donald Trump agreed to pull his soldiers out of the war zone.

11 The Cold War-era weapons are being stored at the Turkish air base shared with the US Air Force Credit: Alamy

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The White House is now demanding a ceasefire after the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, who were aligned with the US, were forced to join dictator Bashar Hafez al-Assad in battling Turkish forces.

Now, with President Trump threatening tough sanctions against Turkey, the "roughly" 50 nuclear weapons stored at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey - around 100 miles from Syria - by the US could become bargaining chips.

According to The New York Times, State and Energy Department officials are reviewing plans to evacuate the bombs out of base and away from the Turkish leader's grasp.

However, one senior official said that the nukes were "essentially Erdogan’s hostages" and to fly them out would mark the "de-facto end of the Turkish-American alliance", reports The Times.

HOLDING NUKES 'HOSTAGE'

Jeffrey Lewis, of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, wrote: “I think this is a first — a country with US nuclear weapons stationed in it literally firing artillery at US forces."

Another concern for the region is Erdogan's own nuclear ambitions.

He told a rally last month that he "cannot accept" the rules that keep Turkey from possessing nukes.

The strongman said: "There is no developed nation in the world that doesn’t have them."

In fact, most developed countries do not have nukes including Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Sweden and Norway.

11 The president of Turkey is accused of 'effectively' holding weapons 'hostage' Credit: Getty - Contributor

11 The US president says he never gave Turkey the green light to go ahead with invasion after pulling out US troops from the region Credit: AFP or licensors

11 Fierce bombing and executions have been reported following attacks on Kurdish-led forces Credit: AFP or licensors

The weapons stored in Turkey are B61 nuclear gravity bombs -which are old Cold War-era nukes which require planes to carry them andc deploy them.

Right now, Turkey have no certified aircrafts that could carry such old nuclear bombs.

Jeffrey Lewis told the Guardian: “The US doesn’t need Turkey’s agreement to remove the weapons. The US can do it unilaterally, and I think the US should do it unilaterally and do it immediately."

However, Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said removing the weapons would not be straightforward.

He said: "Extracting them under these circumstances may be incredibly risky since it would involve removing 50 nuclear weapons from the vaults, moving them on a Turkish base and flying them out of Turkish airspace.

TENSIONS RISING

"They could be vulnerable to accidents, theft or attack."

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced today that Great Britain has suspended arms exports to Turkey as a response to the Syrian invasion.

Across the Atlantic, US Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump is "very concerned about instability in the region", however denied the New Yorker had instigated it saying he didn't give Turkey the green light to launch the invasion when he announced the pullout of US troops.

He said: "The United States of America simply is not going to tolerate Turkey's invasion in Syria any further.

"We are calling on Turkey to stand down, end the violence and come to the negotiating table."

Just hours earlier, Trump publicly washed his hands of the Kurds, inviting "Russia, China, or Napoleon Bonaparte" to step in and save them.

The US President tweeted he had put the fate of America's former Kurdish allies in the hands of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad - whose regime he had bizarrely branded America's "enemy" in the same sentence.

Jeremy Hunt slams Trump's decision to pull out of Syria Former UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called Trump’s decision a “profound strategic mistake” while adding that the salutation in Syria is “ all messed up”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he said: “(It was a) profound strategic mistake to abandon the Kurds who were our allies in the fight against Isil… who lost 11,000 men fighting side by side with us.

“It weakens confidence in America and the West as an ally. This is a part of the world you do need allies if you’re going to get involved.

“It’s also going to lead to a big increase in Russian/Iranian influence in Syria… and (increase) the risk of terrorism if some of these former Isil fighters manage to find their way back to the West.”

He also said his administration will aim to punish Turkey's incursion into Syria by cancelling a $100 billion trade agreement, hiking import tariffs on Turkish steel, and readying economic sanctions against anyone in Erdoğan's government.

He added the Turkish Prime Minister's government threatened "peace, security, or stability" for Syria.

Trump's move has been heavily criticised from both sides of the political spectrum.

One of Trump's staunchest reporters, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: "Just spoke with President @realdonaldTrump. I applaud his decision to work with Congress to stop Turkeys aggression in Syria through crippling economic sanctions.

"This decision by President Trump will be a game changer -- in all the wrong ways -- for Turkey."

In a statement announcing the sanctions, Trump said: "I have been perfectly clear with President Erdogan: Turkey’s action is precipitating a humanitarian crisis and setting conditions for possible war crimes.

"Unfortunately, Turkey does not appear to be mitigating the humanitarian effects of its invasion."

11 Trump discussed the issue on Twitter Credit: Twitter

11 The US is now concerned about instability in the region following the invasion Credit: AFP or licensors

11 Mike Pence claimed Donald Trump has called for ceasefire following Turkey's invasion of Syria Credit: AFP or licensors

11 People gather at the site of an explosion in the Kurdish city of Qamishli Credit: AFP or licensors

11 Many civilians have been displaced during the chaos with no where to go Credit: AFP or licensors

11 Many innocent victims have been killed or caught in the cross fire between the enemies Credit: AFP or licensors

Kurdish woman cries 'Where are the humans' as she cradles lifeless child after Turkish attack in Syria

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