The Kurdish militants in Syria have received weapons and armoured vehicles from the United States in line with an order by the U.S. president a source in the SDF told Sputnik on Friday.
"Following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on arms supply, yesterday evening we received armoured vehicles and heavy weapons. We received a large number of Hummer vehicles. Tanks, mortars, infrared guided missiles were also delivered," the source said.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump approved a plan to arm Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants fighting the Islamic State within the US-backed SDF, saying that the measure was necessary to ensure a victory over terrorists in Syrian Raqqa, despite objections from Turkey.
A high-level delegation of Turkish officials was informed of the decision by Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser when they visited the White House on Monday, and the Pentagon announced the move on Tuesday.
The weapons that the United States provides Kurdish and Arab fighters in the anti-Islamic State coalition include heavy machine guns, mortars, anti-tank weapons, armoured cars and engineering equipment.
Syrian Kurd officials hailed the move and said that Trump’s decision gave new legitimacy to an existing partnership with the YPG.
