Turkey and Russia Have Evidence of U.S.-Led Coalition Support for Islamic State

PRESS RELEASE

Turkey and Russia Have Evidence of U.S.-Led Coalition Support for Islamic State

Dec. 28, 2016 (EIRNS)—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press conference in Ankara, yesterday, that Turkey has evidence of U.S. support for the Islamic State and Kurdish terror groups.

"They give support to terrorist groups, including Daesh (Islamic State), YPG (Kurdish People’s Protection Units), PYD (Democratic Union Party). It’s very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos, and videos,"

Iran’s PressTV quoted Erdogan as saying.

TASS also reports that on Dec. 26, former U.S. Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein accused Washington of supporting terrorist groups when it serves its interests.

U.S. Department of State spokesman Mark Toner rejected Erdogan’s accusations, saying:

"I don’t think anyone could look at our actions on the ground leading the coalition in northern Syria, in Iraq, and say anything other than that we’re 100% behind the defeat, destruction of Daesh, and even beyond Syria and Iraq, seeing its networks dismantled, destroyed around the region—or outside of the region around the world."

Despite these denials, Russian sappers working to de-mine Aleppo have found huge caches of ammunition manufactured in NATO countries. Commander of Russia’s International Mine Action Center Ivan Gromov told Rossiya-24 TV Channel on Wednesday:

"Ammunition and large-caliber small arms together with rockets for Grad multiple-launch rocket systems are represented there. The shells were produced in Germany, the United States, and Bulgaria."

They found 122mm mortar shells, rockets for multiple-launch rocket systems, hand grenades, grenade launchers, and howitzer projectiles in one of the militants’ headquarters—enough ammunition for a whole battalion.

On Dec. 12 the Bulgarian newspaper Trud reported that Syrian government troops had found an arms depot with Bulgarian-made military ammunition in one of the city’s quarters and found in Aleppo another eight depots with Bulgarian-made ammunition.