"Yes We Can" - US airdrops arms, ammunition to Kurds fighting ISIS in Kobani.

"Yes We Can" - US airdrops arms, ammunition to Kurds fighting ISIS in Kobani. (Fox).

The U.S. military said late Sunday that it had dropped weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies to Kurdish forces battling to hold the Syrian border town of Kobani against Islamic State militants.

The airdrops were the first of their kind and followed weeks of U.S. and coalition airstrikes in and near Kobani. Earlier Sunday, U.S. Central Command said that it had launched 11 airstrikes overnight in the area.

CentCom said U.S. C-130 cargo planes made multiple drops of arms and supplies provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq. It said they were intended to enable continued resistance to Islamic State efforts to take full control of Kobani.

In a conference call with reporters after CentCom announced the airdrops, senior administration officials said three C-130 planes dropped 27 bundles of small arms, ammunition and medical supplies. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

One official said that while the results of the mission are still being assessed, it appeared that "the vast majority" of the supplies reached the intended Kurdish fighters.

The official also said the C-130s encountered no resistance from the ground in Syria during their flights in and out of Syrian airspace.

The airdrops are almost certain to anger the Turkish government, which has said it would oppose any U.S. arms transfers to the Kurdish rebels in Syria. Turkey views the main Kurdish group in Syria as an extension of the Turkish Kurd group known as the PKK, which has waged a 30-year insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terror group by the U.S. and by NATO. Hmmm.....Rumor shas it Erdo was seen clutching a handkerchief after hearing the news of the airdrop.Read and see the full story here.

Update and More Here:


The US air-dropped weapons into Syria on October 19, to Kurds defending Kobane. Afterward on a background call Senior US Administration Officials said that Turkish president Erdogan had been informed earlier in the day by President Barack Obama.

There was no discussion of having told, or sought approval from, not only the Syrian government but also the UN or its Security Council. But Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN envoy Staffan de Mistura had been calling for action, and seemed sure to praise it. Is no UNSC or government approval needed to air-drop weapons? Did Turkey’s resounding defeat on October 16 for a UNSC seat have an impact?

US airdrops bolster Kurds fighting Islamic State in Kobane, risking ire of Turkish neighbours http://t.co/CNDxtyJo0E pic.twitter.com/3SveGChy4w

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 20, 2014

WH announces it began air supply that Kurds campaigning for sometime. US truly deserves Kurds' love @AChristieMiller pic.twitter.com/kBrZOAsKDI

— ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) October 20, 2014