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ISTANBUL (AP) — The U.S. and Turkey are announcing plans for the deployment of a U.S. rocket launcher system in southeastern Turkey, across the border from Syria.
A U.S. commander in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria says the mobile, long-range rocket system will be the fourth one deployed around the region. Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten says another is in Jordan, a third is in Iraq's Anbar province, and the other is being deployed in the fight to retake the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Gersten, speaking from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon, said the system could be used as the campaign to retake the city of Raqqa in northern Syria moves forward. The city is the de facto Islamic State capital in Syria.
Turkey regularly shells Islamic State targets in northern Syria in response to cross-border rockets.
Turkey is part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, and it hosts 2.7 million Syrian refugees.
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211-a-05-(Major General Peter Gersten, operations and intelligence chief for the Islamic State fight, briefing Pentagon reporters via videoconference)-"to be installed"-Major General Peter Gersten, the operations and intelligence chief for the Islamic State fight, says the U.S. will deploy a rocket launcher system in southeastern Turkey, across from Syria. (26 Apr 2016)
<<CUT *211 (04/26/16)££ 00:05 "to be installed"
212-a-07-(Major General Peter Gersten, operations and intelligence chief for the Islamic State fight, briefing Pentagon reporters via videoconference)-"system, very agile"-Major General Peter Gersten, the operations and intelligence chief for the Islamic State fight, says he will not disclose exactly where the HIMARS rocket system will be located in Turkey. ((HIMARS is pronounced HY'-marz and stands for High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System)) (26 Apr 2016)
<<CUT *212 (04/26/16)££ 00:07 "system, very agile"
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