Patriot missiles en route to Turkey
- 11 years ago
A U.S. military cargo plane lands in Turkey on Tuesday to prepare for the deployment of six NATO Patriot anti-missile units there.
The U.S. is providing two of six Patriot batteries, meant to protect southern Turkey from possible air attacks from warring Syria.
The Netherlands and Germany are also providing two each.
A contingent of two Patriot units left a Netherlands military base on Monday.
And an advance party of some 30 Dutch and 20 German soldiers left the Netherlands on Tuesday to prepare for the arrival.
The border between Turkey and Syria has become a point of tension in the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad, with Syrian government shells frequently landing inside Turkish territory.
Turkey has repeatedly scrambled war planes along the frontier, fanning fears the the civil war could spread and further destabilise the region.
The U.S. is providing two of six Patriot batteries, meant to protect southern Turkey from possible air attacks from warring Syria.
The Netherlands and Germany are also providing two each.
A contingent of two Patriot units left a Netherlands military base on Monday.
And an advance party of some 30 Dutch and 20 German soldiers left the Netherlands on Tuesday to prepare for the arrival.
The border between Turkey and Syria has become a point of tension in the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad, with Syrian government shells frequently landing inside Turkish territory.
Turkey has repeatedly scrambled war planes along the frontier, fanning fears the the civil war could spread and further destabilise the region.