Turkish military tanks given to Free Syrian Army allegedly sold to Islamic State

It was revealed that Ankara-backed FSA militants sold or transferred some of the Turkish tanks to Islamic State in the Syrian town Al-Bab
Thursday, 27 April 2017 06:14

It was revealed that  Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants backed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey sold or transferred some of the Turkish tanks during the Operation Euphrates Shield in the Syrian town Al-Bab which is currently under control of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). FSA had participated in the operation with the TAF which cost the lives of 70 Turkish soldiers.

According to the daily Birgün, FSA militants, who had entered the Al-Bab region with 8 tanks and armoured vehicles before the TAF while it was still under the control of Islamic State, sold or transferred some of these Turkish tanks and armoured vehicles to Islamic State. It is stated that although Turkish Chief of the Staff has brought a prosecution against the incident, obtained no result, but the investigation file is still open. The vehicles transferred or sold to Islamic State are worth a fortune: The price of each tank is 680,000 dollars. According to video footage that has surface, the militants are seen praying on a Turkish tank, and then the tank is transferred to ISIS-controlled zone. The vehicle in the video footage confirmed to have a registration number of ‘‘243768’’. The ISIS militants are seen in the video pointing to the tank transferred by the FSA and called it  "war booty".

'THERE WAS A DOUBLE STANDARD PRACTICE BETWEEN TURKISH SOLDIERS AND FSA MILITANTS'

Military sources informing the newspaper about the military operation in Al-Bab stated that "the operation was carried out under very difficult circumstances. There was even no room for bathing and no food. There was a double standard practice between our soldiers and the FSA militants. The FSA militants had better conditions compared to the Turkish soldiers. On top of that, the FSA militants sold the armoured vehicle to ISIS.  Most of the FSA militants were plunderers, drug addicts and smugglers".