By Mohamed Misto

Al-HASAKAH/ANKARA

The U.S. is continuing to arm the PKK/PYD terrorist organization on grounds it is fighting the Daesh terrorist group, according to sources on the ground in northern Syria.

An Anadolu Agency correspondent based in the area reported seeing 200 truckloads of U.S. military equipment -- including armored vehicles -- being sent to PKK/PYD elements in Syria since Sept. 10.

According to the same correspondent, roughly 100 of these trucks entered Syria’s PKK/PYD-held Al-Hasakah province from Iraq on Tuesday via the Semalka border crossing.

Some of these trucks, he said, carried mine-resistant armored vehicles that can be upgraded to carry heavy weapons and which are known for their high maneuverability and rapid-deployment capabilities.

A 100-truck convoy sent to PKK/PYD elements on Sept. 11 appeared to carry a number of utility vehicles. As most of the trucks were heavily covered, however, it remains unclear what kind of equipment they carried.

On the pretext that the PKK/PYD is leading the fight against Daesh in northern Syria, the U.S. has supplied the PKK/PYD with a total of 1,621 truckloads of military equipment since June 1, according to correspondents on the ground.

This figure, correspondents say, includes 60 truckloads of equipment on June 5; 20 truckloads on June 12; 50 truckloads on June 16; 120 from June 21 to 26; 82 on July 5; 102 on July 9; 95 on June 13; 100 on July 17; 100 on July 22; 80 on July 27; 100 on July 31; and 112 on Aug. 7.

According to the Pentagon, recent military assistance extended to armed groups in Syria (including the PKK/PYD) has included 12,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles; 6,000 light machine guns; 3,500 heavy machine guns; 3,000 RPG-7s; 1,000 anti-tank weapons (Swedish AT-4s and Russian SPG-9s); 235 mortar guns of various calibers; and 100 long-range sniper rifles.

Turkey, along with the U.S. and EU, considers the PKK -- of which the PYD is an offshoot -- a terrorist organization.

Following a years-long hiatus, the PKK resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including women and children.

Yet despite the PKK’s terrorist activities, the U.S. has continued to support the PYD, the PKK’s affiliate in Syria.