Ankara asks NATO for extension on Patriots
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Ankara has asked NATO to extend the deployment of Patriot missiles for another year, a Turkish official told Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.With the request lodged, NATO still has not made a decision, the official added.
Turkey, a NATO member, appealed to the Alliance last year for the protection of its border from any threats derived from Syria. The Netherlands, Germany and the United States deployed to the southern city of Adana and the southeastern cities of Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep under the command of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Turkey asked for protection from its NATO allies after a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory killed five Turkish civilians in the border town of Akçakale in October last year.
Originally used as an anti-aircraft missile, Patriots today are used to defend airspace by detecting and destroying incoming missiles.