Syrian passenger plane forced to land in Anka
Syrian passenger plane forced to land in AnkaReuters

The US warned Turkey there was military cargo aboard a Syrian aircraft intercepted by Ankara Wednesday night – correctly.

According to a report in the Turkish newspaper Miliyet, the United States warned Ankara the plane, a commercial flight originating from Russia, was carrying non-civilian gear. Both countries are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Syrian passenger plane was forced to land at Esenboga airport in Ankara as it flew en route from Moscow. Syria has banned Turkish civilian aircraft from flying in Syrian airspace, state-run TRT television reported. The claim was later repeated in the Lebanese newspaper al-Dayar, which reported the Syrian Air Force in Damascus gave the order to intercept any Turkish aircraft in its airspace following Turkey's interception of the Syrian passenger plane. The Lebanese report added that Turkey has warned all of its own aircraft to avoid entering Syrian airspace.

The Syrian aircraft, intercepted by two Turkish F-16 fighter jets scrambled to escort the aircraft to Ankara, was reportedly found to be carrying missile parts and communications gear.

Russian authorities have denied the presence of arms or military gear aboard the Syrian passenger flight. According to a statement issued by the official Russian news agency Interfax, “There was no military gear on the plane, and there couldn't have been.”

Meanwhile, a Turkish PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party terrorist organization) operative has revealed after surrendering to the Turkish army this week that Kurdish terrorists are uniting and have made a pact with Iran to fight against Turkey

The terrorist was quoted by the Sabah daily newspaper as saying the PKK was responsible for ordering deadly attacks along the Turkish-Syrian border. The PKK also sent 700 operatives to help Syrian Kurdish terrorists as well.