US continues to arm Kurdish forces in Syria – Pentagon official
The United States continues to provide Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria with arms and vehicles, despite the creation of a buffer zone with Turkey along the border, according to a US defense official.
The US has supplied the materials to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) units to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). “We continue to provide very tailored arms and vehicles to the SDF” for use against IS, AFP quoted Chris Maier, the director of the working group at the Department of Defense on the fight against the jihadists, as saying on Wednesday. “We’re very transparent about what those supplies are,” Maier said. “We provide monthly to Turkey a report of what those arms and vehicles are.”
The US-led coalition against IS has relied on the SDF, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, to root out and prevent a resurgence of IS. Turkey considers the Kurdish portion of the SDF, called the People’s Protection Units (YPG), to be a terrorist group.
Maier, who calls the buffer area a “security mechanism,” said five joint helicopter flights by the US and Turkish militaries had already been conducted. The project’s first joint ground patrol took place September 8. Some Kurdish forces have left and been replaced by Arab fighters, but there are still YPG forces in the area.
US continues to arm Kurdish forces in Syria – Pentagon official
Source: RT