File photo
Terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syria affiliate, the PYD, received 150 truckloads of weapons and munitions dispatched by the U.S. following Washington’s announcement of a planned withdrawal of troops from Syria.
The weapons were sent through the Iraqi border to critical positions on the border with Turkey near the cities of Derik and Qamishli, arriving mere 24 hours following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a planned withdrawal of some 5,000 troops from Syria.
Footage shows U.S. army trucks, loaded with munitions and weapons, pulling out of Syria and heading towards the Iraqi border following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw all 2,000 American troops from northeast Syria.
US army trucks start pullout from Syria
Over the past week alone, 500 truckloads of weapons and munitions were dispatched to PKK/PYD terrorists in Syria.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered all of the U.S. forces in Syria to withdraw from the country, saying Daesh's defeat was his sole reason for being in the civil war-torn country.
The U.S. began its air campaign in Syria in 2014, deploying troops to the country to assist in the anti-Daesh fight alongside local partners the year after.
Reports have suggested U.S. forces will leave within 60 to 100 days.
U.S. presence in Syria is an "illogical source of tension," said Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday in a comment on Washington's planned withdrawal of troops from Syria.On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered all of the U.S. forces in Syria to withdraw from the country, saying Daesh's defeat was his sole reason for being in the civil war-torn country.The U.S. began its air campaign in Syria in 2014, deploying troops to the country to assist in the anti-Daesh fight alongside local partners the year after.Reports have suggested U.S. forces will leave within 60 to 100 days.The withdrawal comes on the eve of a possible Turkish military operation in the northeastern Syria against the YPG/PKK terrorist group.Since 2016, Ankara has carried out two similar military operations in the northern Syria.Turkey hasn’t given up on future Syria operations: FMTrump's Syria withdrawal decided during Erdoğan call: AP
Iran on planned US pullout from Syria: American presence 'illogical source of tension'
Turkey may delay operation east of the Euphrates River, but it does not mean the country has given up on operations to be conducted in the future, Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.“It doesn’t mean that we gave up on our determination and operations we will launch against the YPG in the future,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish state broadcaster TRT News in an exclusive interview during his official visit to Malta.Cavusoglu said postponing the operation east of the Euphrates was a “logical” decision for preventing “friendly fire” in the region, following the U.S. decision to withdraw troops from Syria.On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered all of the U.S. forces in Syria to withdraw from the country, saying Daesh's defeat was his sole reason for being in the civil war-torn country.The U.S. began its air campaign in Syria in 2014, deploying troops to the country to assist in the anti-Daesh fight alongside local partners the year after.Reports have suggested U.S. forces will leave within 60 to 100 days.The withdrawal comes on the eve of a possible Turkish military operation in the northeastern Syria against the YPG/PKK terrorist group.Since 2016, Ankara has carried out two similar military operations in the northern Syria.
Turkey hasn’t given up on future Syria operations: FM
President Donald Trump made the decision to remove the U.S. troops from Syria during a telephone call with his Turkish counterpart, The Associated Press reported Friday.Trump made the decision without consulting his top national security officials and key U.S. allies, The AP reported, citing two officials briefed on the matter.Trump's top officials prepared a list of talking points for him ahead of his Dec. 14 call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid Ankara's plan to conduct a military offensive in Syria. But Trump shook them off, instead siding with the Turkish president during the call, according to The AP.“The talking points were very firm,” one official told the news agency, adding that Trump was advised to oppose the potential Turkish offensive into northeastern Syria.“Everybody said push back and try to offer (Turkey) something that’s a small win, possibly holding territory on the border, something like that,” the official added.Erdogan asked Trump why he is still in Syria given that Daesh had been reduced to holding one percent of the territory it had once controlled, noting Trump has repeatedly insisted the only reason for the U.S. military presence was to defeat the terrorist group.Trump then asked National Security Advisor John Bolton, who was listening in on the call, why U.S. troops are still in Syria if that is the case, and Bolton acknowledged Daesh had been significantly rolled back. But he insisted the national security team agreed the victory had to be enduring, which required stripping Daesh of all its territory.But Trump was unswayed, pledging a withdrawal to Erdogan who was caught off guard by the announcement, counseling Trump against a "hasty" removal of U.S. forces.Trump, however, has been unswayed pledging to pull the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria out of the country.His decision set off a frenzied response within Trump's national security team to figure out how to delay the action, but they were rebuffed by Chief of Staff John Kelly and his incoming successor Mick Mulvaney who said the president was insistent.Trump's top officials had for months been telling the president the fight against Daesh is far from over, calls the president ignored when he declared mission accomplished on Tuesday.Defense Secretary James Mattis has since resigned from his post effective at the end of February, citing a divergence of views with the president on an array of topics including how the U.S. treats its allies."We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances," he wrote in his resignation letter. "Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position.
Trump's Syria withdrawal decided during Erdoğan call: AP
The withdrawal comes on the eve of a possible Turkish military operation in the northeastern Syria against the YPG/PKK terrorist group.
Since 2016, Ankara has carried out two similar military operations in the northern Syria.