President Trump has approved a plan to further arm Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday. The heavier arms will allow the fighters to help in the fight to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State.
Trump's approval comes in spite of strong opposition from Turkey, a key NATO ally. Reuters reported that Turkey sees the Kurdish fighters "as an extension of PKK militia waging an insurgency on Turkish soil."
American military commanders, however, have long pushed for the fighters to be armed, as The New York Times noted YPG "contains some of the most experienced fighters among the Syrian force" fighting ISIS.