Some 200 Turkish military trucks were on their way to the Iraqi border today as US trucks left the port of Iskenderun on trailer trucks also heading east, television reports said.
The Turkish vehicles, which were covered with tarpaulins, crossed the town of Silopi for the border post of Habur, 15 kilometres farther to the south.
Hundreds of kilometres to the west, dozens of trailer trucks carrying US military vehicles recently unloaded from US vessels off the coast left Iskenderun, according to television reports.
The US trucks were escorted by police and headed to Mardin, a town north of the Syrian border, and then on to the east.
Several hundred US military vehicles, including trucks, radio transmission vehicles and other types of troop transporters, had landed at Iskenderun about two weeks ago, but Turkish authorities said at the time they were to be used by some 3,500 experts upgrading Turkish ports and airports.
Turkish officials had suggested that ships carrying US military equipment to Turkey would be lying offshore, waiting for a green light from the Turkish parliament to start deploying combat forces.
Parliament voted against such a move last weekend, rejecting a government request for the deployment of 62,000 US troops.
But today Turkey appeared to be swinging in favor of US war plans for Iraq after the powerful army backed the deployment of US forces in the country ahead of a possible second vote on the issue in the parliament.
However a new vote was not expected before the end of next week.
AFP