Amid ongoing reports that the US continues to arm the Syrian Kurds, even after the announced retaking of Raqqa from Daesh, Nuri Mahmud, an official representative of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the primary component of the US-backed SDF force which conducted the operation, confirmed that the US has been supplying them with arms since the liberation of Kobani in 2015.
Mahmud, however, refused to reveal the scale of the arms provided by the US, only noting that "it is relatively humble and not enough in comparison with the weaponry it supplied to the Iraqi army for the liberation of Mosul."
According to Nuri Mahmud, these facilities are used for the fight against Daesh. However, he refused to give the exact number of operating US bases.
"We can't discuss this issue. It is none of our business," he told Sputnik Turkiye.
Abdulaziz Yunus, the SDF representative in charge of foreign affairs, also confirmed that the US continues supplying arms to SDF, and remains the only power which is supporting Kurds militarily.
"The US is supplying us with ammunition based on our demands. Apart from coalition forces, no one else supports us with weaponry. We won't disclose the exact volume of the provided arms but hope that the deliveries will increase as it will enable us to liberate other regions from terrorists," he explained.
Abdulaziz Yunus stressed that the interests of SDF coincide with those of the US, and that they will continue their cooperation. Washington had supported the Free Syrian Army, but this didn't yield any results. That is why, after the liberation of Kobani, the US decided to support them and has been satisfied with this arrangement, he concluded.