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US pushes back on Turkish media claims about Syrian Kurds

US Embassy in Ankara refutes fevered claims about aid deliveries to Syrian Kurds.
TAL ABYAD, SYRIA - JUNE 19: (TURKEY OUT) A Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG fighter controls the weapons in downtown of Tal Abyad, Syria. June 19, 2015. Kurdish fighters with the YPG took full control of Tal Abyad, dealing a major blow to the Islamic State group's ability to wage war in Syria. Mopping up operations have started to make the town safe for the return of residents from Turkey, after more than a year of Islamic State militants holding control of the town. (Photo by Ahmet Sik/Getty Image

The United States today broke its silence over the unremitting slew of accusations about its supposed plans to undermine Turkey through its armed support for Syrian Kurds fighting against the Islamic State (IS). The US Embassy in Ankara refuted the claims in a statement published on its website in English and in Turkish and shared via Twitter.

The statement read, “Inaccurate reports by several outlets over the past few days have erroneously claimed that the United States has sent ‘tanks’ and ‘hundreds of truckloads of weapons’ into Syria to support the YPG [Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units].” It also declared, “The United States has not provided tanks to any groups fighting Daesh in Syria,” Daesh being the Arabic acronym for IS.

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