The U.S.-led coalition’s plan to train 15,000 Syrian rebels for the fight against the Islamic State group will begin in March, a senior Turkish official said Monday. The training will take place over three years.
An agreement on the logistics behind joint U.S.-Turkey training is in its final stages and is expected to be signed this month, the senior foreign ministry official told Reuters.
“Around 1,500 to 2,000 people are expected to be trained in Turkey (in the first year),” the official said, Reuters reported. The official added that a “limited number” of U.S. troops would be in Turkey for the training.
The training is likely to take place in the Turkish city of Kirsehir, Reuters reported.
As of Jan. 4, U.S. has just over 2,100 troops in Iraq who are already training security forces to better handle the Islamic State group. That number is expected to rise over 3,000 due to orders announced Nov. 7 by President Obama.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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