US soldiers, YPG/PKK terrorists conduct joint armed exercise in Syria

By Mohamad Misto and Ethem Emre Ozcan

ANKARA/DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (AA) – The US soldiers and YPG/PKK terrorists are carrying out a joint armed exercise in eastern Syria, local sources said Friday.

US troops launched the armed training with YPG/PKK terrorists in the morning in and around the industrial zone located in the Abu Khashab desert, northwest of Deir ez-Zor province, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity over security concerns.

Combat aircraft and helicopters, as well as several tanks and armored vehicles are joining the exercise.

The YPG/PKK terrorists will get training on using mortars, artillery fire, and guided anti-tank missiles during the exercise, which some troops from the Global Coalition Against Daesh/ISIS are participating in.

In December 2021, US troops conducted joint armed exercises with the YPG/PKK terrorists in the desert.

- Previous trainings given to terrorists

The US and France, which are part of the coalition against the terror group Daesh/ISIS, have previously supported YPG/PKK terrorists in Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor, east of the Euphrates River, with various armed trainings and exercises.

In Al-Hasakah, the Mount Abdulaziz and Sports Complex areas besides some US bases, and the Omar Oil Field area in Deir ez-Zor have become training areas.

In the previous trainings, weapon employment, methods of capturing positions determined by uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the ground, mortar attacks, artillery fire, airborne landings, and preventing attacks on bases were explained to terrorists in practice.

In the sports complex in Al-Hasakah, which serves as a runway for US helicopters, YPG/PKK terrorists are also given practical airborne training.

The French soldiers, who were already acting under the auspices of the US in Syria, had given artillery fire training to YPG/PKK terrorists.

Hence, the US and the coalition forces it leads have provided armed training to thousands of YPG/PKK terrorists since 2015.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Turkiye was one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terror group.

The country has since been attacked by the organization multiple times, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks.

In response, Turkiye launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

*Writing by Merve Berker