The U.S. has secretly armed the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) Syrian franchise, Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorists, with over 70 Russian-made IGLA (SA-18) type anti-aircraft missiles, which threaten Turkey’s airspace after bases were set-up in the PKK-occupied border cities of Qamishli, Derbasiye, Tal Abyad, Ayn al-Arab and Afrin.
The majority of the American-supplied rockets were handed over to terrorists in Raqqa’s Ayn Eissa, while a part of the shipment was moved to Qandil.
As Turkey prepares to launch the Afrin operation, the terrorist organization sent these weapons to areas under its occupations off the border with Turkey, such as Qamishli, Derbasiye, Tal Abyad, Ayn al-Arab and Afrin.
PYD terrorists positioned the missile launchers in Afrin’s Jinderes and Rajon regions, where they can fend off any incoming Turkish aerial operations.
Civilian airplanes and helicopters at airports in Gaziantep, Hatay, Şanlıurfa and Mardin are among PYD terrorists' targets.
The aerial facilities in these four border provinces are under threat from PYD terrorists in Syria, who are calculating the range of the planes’ take-off, landing and oncoming points.
Anti-aircraft missiles are capable of striking targets at altitudes of 5.5 kilometers, while they can hit points at horizontal distances of 8-9 kilometers.
Terrorists are approaching a "surface zero" point for manoeuver purposes off the border with Turkey in order to lock on civilian planes’ take-off, landing and oncoming positions at the airports of Hatay, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Mardin.
PYD terrorists were given instructions to strike civilian airplanes in the case of a Turkish intervention in Tal Abyad, Manbij and Afrin.
Syrian opposition fighters have recently seized Russian-made SA-18 anti-aircraft missiles after raiding positions of the PYD terrorists in Jarablus and Tal Rifat.
Supplying anti-aircraft missiles to PYD terrorists who are said to be fighting Daesh which possesses no aerial power, threatens Turkey’s civilian and military planes.
PYD terrorists received training in using antiaircraft missiles from Russian and American Specialists.
The training sessions, which were held in Afrin and Ayn al-Arab, provided terrorists with the ability to effectively use anti-aircraft missiles.
Missile shipments that were handed over in Syria were sent to Qandil, a part of which fell in the hands of PKK terrorists in Turkey.
As the Assad regime intensified its barrel bomb airstrikes in 2016, the U.S. opposed a project to arm the Free Syrian Army (FSA) with anti-aircraft missiles.
The U.S. refused requests to arm the Syrian opposition under the false pretext that the missiles "would be seized by terrorist elements," while in the second half of 2015, it started to secretly arm PKK terrorists with German and Russian-made rockets.
On May 16, 2016, a military helicopter was shot down by PKK terrorists who used the very same missiles in Hakkari’s Çukurca, which martyred eight soldiers, including two pilots.
A statement made by the Turkish Armed Forces confirmed that the helicopter was downed by an anti-aircraft missile.
