Around 50 US soldiers arrive in Turkey to use newly-deployed HIMARS system
Uğur Ergan – ANKARA
Around 50 U.S. soldiers have arrived in Turkey to use the newly-deployed High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group.Deployed near the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) defense missile system in the Almalıtepe region of the southeastern province of Gaziantep, HIMARS batteries have a 92-kilometer range and quick mobility capabilities.
On Sept. 3, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said U.S. forces hit ISIL targets overnight near Turkey’s border with Syria using HIMARS.
“Last night: U.S. HIMARS in place and in action. The latest step in U.S.-Turkey cooperation in the fight against #ISIL,” the embassy tweeted.
It was not immediately clear when the system was deployed at Turkey’s border but a deal with Washington, which would have seen HIMARS deployed along Turkey’s border with Syria to combat ISIL at the end of May, was previously delayed until it was deployed around mid-August.
