US dispatches 100 trucks packed with military equipment to YPG

ANKARA

The U.S. dispatched around new 100 trucks consisting of military equipment to the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria on May 15 and May 20, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

The trucks were reported in the city of al-Hasakah, located in northeast Syria, before heading to Raqqa’s northern rural areas.

The dispatched trucks were indicated to have entered the region under YPG control though the Simelka-Peshkhabour border crossing between Syria and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 

The vehicles were reportedly carrying fuel oil, military armored vehicles, heavy construction equipment and ammunition. 

The U.S. move came after President Donald Trump on May 9 authorized the arming of the YPG in Syria ahead of a planned assault to retake the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), causing ire in Ankara. 

The Turkish government considers the YPG to be linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and has long pressed Washington to stop its support for the group, as it says that the arms provided to the group are handed over to the PKK.


Air operations conducted against PKK targets in Kandil 
   
Meanwhile, Turkish fighter jets hit PKK targets in northern Iraq, killing four militants, the Turkish General Staff stated on May 22, Anadolu Agency has reported.  

The military said the anti-terror air raid hit targets in the Kandil region, a mountainous area in northern Iraq used as a headquarters by the PKK.        

The Turkish Air Forces have been conducting regular air strikes on PKK facilities in both northern Iraq and Turkey since July 2015.