ANKARA

US forces continue providing military training to YPG/PKK terrorists in Syria, according to local sources.

Sources said US Special Forces dispatched 70 soldiers to Al-Hasakah through Iraq on Nov. 28 to provide armed training to YPG/PKK members east of the Euphrates River.

The US soldiers, who arrived in the town of Rmelan -- where the US airbase is located -- started armed training for hundreds of YPG/PKK terrorists on Dec. 1.

In the training, which will last for about a month, the use of light, medium and heavy weapons, raids and infiltration methods in the villages will be taught to the terrorists.

After the training, the sources, who asked not to be named, said that some of the terrorists will be sent to the Ash Shaddadi district in Al-Hasakah and the Omar Oil Field in Deir Ez-Zor, while the remaining terrorists would stay in Rmelan.

The US and France, members of the coalition against Daesh/ISIS, previously supported YPG/PKK terrorists with military training in areas of Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor.

​​​​​​​The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK, a designated terror group in the US, EU, and Turkey. US support for the YPG-led SDF has significantly strained relations with Ankara.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat