The US military is laying the groundwork to close the airspace over northern Syria, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. US military freighters are reported to have transported radar systems to the city of Kobanî, controlled by the Kurdish militia, and the US military base in Al-Shaddadah in southern al-Hasakah.
The outlet claims that the US plans to use these complexes to establish a no-fly zone over the territory between Manbij in Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.
Washington hasn’t commented on the report yet.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that militants in the Syrian province of Idlib were preparing to stage a false flag chemical weapon attack against civilians in order to blame Damascus and give the US and its allies a pretext for a punitive strike against Syria.
The ministry has noted that the US and its allies keep expanding a group of cruise missile carriers in the Middle East region, preparing for a possible strike.
READ MORE: Syrian Air Defenses on Alert Ahead of Possible US Attack – Reports
French President Emmanuel Macron also declared during his speech to French ambassadors on Monday that France was ready to launch new strikes against Syria in case of a chemical weapons attack there.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton also reportedly warned Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev that Washington was prepared to take forceful military action against Syria if Damascus uses chemical weapons, stressing that America was prepared to respond with greater force than before. Kremlin, however, couldn't confirm this information.
