Patriot Missiles to be Removed from Turkey in October

Turkey and the United States said Sunday that Washington would withdraw its Patriot missile batteries from the country in October, after bolstering Ankara's air defenses against threats from Syria's civil war.

The NATO mandate for the mission will run out in October and will not be renewed, but the United States is prepared to return Patriot assets and personnel to Turkey within one week if needed, a joint Turkish-U.S. statement quoted by AFP said.