Syria ISIS Airstrikes: US State Dept Says Assad Was Advised But No Coordination Made, Syrian Fighters Say Airstrike Will Help Keep Assad Regime Alive (PHOTOS)
Pictures showing an ISIL Command and Control Center in Syria before (L) and after it was struck by bombs dropped by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet are seen in handouts released by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) September 23, 2014. Reuters/US Department of Defense/Handout

The airdropping of arms and ammunition by the U.S. to Kurdish fighters in the besieged Syrian town of Kobani has sowed the seeds of mistrust between the U.S. and Turkey. It was last Sunday night that two U.S. Air Force C-130s flew into Syria without taking any fighter escort and delivered bundles of weapons, ammunition and supplies to Kurdish fighters, who are fighting the the radical Islamic State group.

This was on top of the 135 airstrikes against ISIS in the area around Kobani in the past one week. Though the raids killed hundreds of ISIS fighters it was not enough to break the stalemate between the attacking forces and the Kurdish fighters holding the town, at the Turkish border.

Turkey's Concerns

Turkey's inflexible stand against arming the Kurds and allowing passage for Peshmerga Kurds from Iraq joining the Kobani theatre had become a head ache for the U.S. Despite working in the anti ISIS coalition, Turkish authorities continue to view the Kurds fighters as dangerous as Kurds have long battled Turkey under the banner of Kurdistan Workers Party, reports Military Times.

On Sunday, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan articulated his concerns. He said Turkey will continue to resist the arming of Kurdish fighters across the border with Syria as "it would be very wrong to expect Turkey to openly say 'yes' to NATO ally America in giving this kind of support. To expect something like this from us is impossible."

After signaling that it can do business with Kurds, irrespective of Turkey, President Obama spoke with president Erdogan and cajoled him to "work closely together to strengthen cooperation against ISIS," according to a release from the White House, without disclosing the content of the discussion.

Kurds Happy

Meanwhile, the airdrop of weapons has enthused Kurdish fighters who are battling the ISIS jihadists in Kobani, reports Yahoo News. According to Redur Xelil, a spokesman for the People's Protection Units (YPG), the American weapons were useful and Kurdish fighters hoped to receive more assistance.

"The military assistance dropped by American planes on Kobani was good and we thank America. It will positively impact the military operations against Daesh," he said, while using the Arabic acronym Daesh for the ISIS. Xelil disclosed that they have "coordination" with the U.S. officials over the weapons delivery. The YPG is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is Syria's Kurdish movement. But Turkey sees the PYD as a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which had waged a 30-year fight for self-rule in Turkey's south east areas.