Turkey Arms Al-Qaeda-Linked HTS to Confront U.S.-Backed SDF

Date: 18 October 2025 - 21:37

News ID: ۱۴۴۷۴۵

ANKARA (Dispatches) -- Turkey plans to supply military equipment to the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) r regime in Syria and finalize a deal allowing it to target Kurdish militants along the entire Syrian border, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter.
The planned shipments, expected in the coming weeks, will include armored vehicles, drones, artillery, missiles, and air-defense systems to be deployed in northern Syria. Officials said the equipment will be positioned carefully to avoid escalating tensions with Israel in the southwest.
Turkey’s presidency declined to comment on the reports, and Syria’s HTS information ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Significantly, the aid is intended to bolster Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, leader of the HTS —a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh—and his efforts to bring Syria under HTS control following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad late last year. The military support aims to help HTS rebuild its forces after much of Syria’s arsenal was destroyed during the fall of Assad’s government.
This move also underscores Ankara’s deep concern over Syria’s northeast, controlled by the U.S.-backed SDF Kurdish militants. A key faction within the SDF, the Kurdish YPG, is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey labels a terrorist organization. Turkey seeks to extend an existing, decades-old security agreement with Damascus that permits Turkish strikes on Kurdish militants near the border, expanding the strike zone from 5 kilometers to 30 kilometers (about 19 miles).
Turkey’s role in Syria has been highly controversial. Ankara has long supported extremist groups such as HTS and allowed its borders to remain porous for foreign takfiri terrorists to infiltrate Syria, contributing to the prolonged conflict and the eventual ousting of Assad.
Turkey also aims to back al-Jolani’s resistance to Kurdish demands for autonomy in border areas, while pushing to limit the SDF’s control over oil and gas fields, concerned that revenues are funneled to the PKK.
In March, the SDF and HTS signed a deal to integrate SDF fighters into HTS forces, but the agreement remains largely unfulfilled amid ongoing tensions. Meanwhile, attempts by the Kurdish PKK to disarm and pursue peace have stalled, as Ankara remains wary of Kurdish ambitions.
Turkey’s involvement continues to fuel instability, as it balances its fight against Kurdish groups with support for extremist factions, prolonging Syria’s fragmentation and undermining prospects for lasting peace.