TURKEY SENDS TROOPS, TANKS TO PROTECT TOMB IN SYRIA

Ankara, 24 Jumadil Akhir 1435/25 April 2014 (MINA) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent troops to Syria to guard the tomb of a Turkish figure in the Arab country, local media report.

Erdogan sent some 300 forces and several armored vehicles to the neighboring country to protect the tomb of Suleyman Shah, who was the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s Today Zaman daily said on Wednesday.

The convoy also consists of six tanks and a food truck, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Turkey considers the tomb of Suleyman Shah as sovereign Turkish territory under a treaty signed with France in 1921. The tomb is located in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo.

Last month, an audio recording uploaded on YouTube revealed a plot by top Turkish officials to conduct a false-flag attack as a pretext to invade Syria.

The recording contained the voices of Turkey’s intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Deputy Chief of Military Staff Yasar Guler and other senior officials discussing the possible assault.

Ankara reacted to the anonymous posting by blocking users’ access to YouTube throughout Turkey, saying the leaking of the controversial recording had created “a national security issue.”

Davutoglu condemned the leak as a “declaration of war” against the Turkish government and nation, stressing, “A cyber attack has been carried out against the Turkish Republic, our state and our valued nation.”

On March 30, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the Turkish government was facilitating the entry of foreign militants into the Christian town of Kasab in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border.

Zoubi added that Ankara’s move was in violation of international resolutions as it constitutes involvement in terrorism. (T/P012/E01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)