Ankara categorically denies US special forces’ presence in Turkey

ANKARA

AFP photo

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials have categorically denied media reports suggesting that Washington has special forces stationed close to the Syrian border in Turkey.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, sources denied the claim of British daily The Times that American and French special forces have been at İncirlik airbase in southern Turkey for weeks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed on Oct. 10 that a team of U.S. military planners was in Jordan to help the government grapple with Syrian refugees, bolster its military capabilities and prepare for any trouble with its chemical weapons stockpiles.  

"We have been working with Jordan for a period of time now ... on a number of the issues that have developed as a result of what's happened in Syria," Reuters quoted Panetta as saying in Brussels.

Panetta said those issues included monitoring chemical weapons sites "to determine how best to respond to any concerns in that area."  A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the small team of planners were not engaged in covert operations and have been housed at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center, north of the capital of Amman, since the early summer.