Daily Times

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has approved supplying weapons to Kurdish forces fighting so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria, the Pentagon says.

Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would be equipped to help drive IS from its stronghold, Raqqa, a spokeswoman said.

The US was “keenly aware” of Turkey’s concerns about such a move, she added.

Turkey views the Kurdish rebels as terrorists and wants to stop them taking more territory in Syria.

The Pentagon later said US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis had spoken by phone to his Turkish counterpart, Fikri Isik, but gave no details of the conversation. Turkish officials have not yet responded publicly.

SDF forces, which comprise Kurdish and Arab militias, are already being supported by elite US forces and air strikes from a US-led coalition.

The US has previously supplied light weapons and armoured vehicles to the Arab element of the SDF, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition. The SDF is currently battling IS for control of the city of Tabqa, an IS command centre just 50km (30 miles) from Raqqa.

The Kurdish fighters are from the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey sees as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group it has been fighting for decades.

Last month, Turkey carried out air strikes on YPG positions in Syria which it described as “terrorist havens”.