ISTANBUL: Turkey and the United States have started training moderate Syrian rebels on Turkish territory to prepare them to fight the self-styled Islamic State (IS) militants, the Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday.

The US-led programme to equip and train Syrian rebels on Turkish territory has started “with small groups” after months of delays, Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

“We can say that the train-and-equip (mission) has started with small groups. All infrastructure has been completed and the necessary equipment has been supplied,” he said.

“Both the Turkish and the American personnel who will carry out the mission have been dispatched,” he said, adding that the rebels were being selected jointly by Turkey and the United States.

The Turkish foreign minister told the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper that Ankara and Washington had also agreed to provide some rebels preparing to fight IS with “air protection”.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2015

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