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World

Hagel: US wants to know if Ankara is willing to train Syrian opposition fighters inside Turkey

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, speaks at a press conference at the Tolemaida military base, in Melgar, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Hagel is on a six-day, three-country trip to South America. Hagel will also travel to Chile and Peru, where he will attend a conference of defense ministers from the Americas. Pictured left is Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

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    U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, shakes hands with Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, after a press conference at the Tolemaida military base, in Melgar, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Hagel is on a six-day, three-country trip to South America. Hagel will also travel to Chile and Peru, where he will attend a conference of defense ministers from the Americas. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

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    Colombian Armed Forces Commander, Gen. Juan Pablo Rodriguez, left, and Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, right, lead a tour for U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, center, at the Tolemaida military base, in Melgar, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Hagel is on a six-day, three-country trip to South America. Hagel will also travel to Chile and Peru, where he will attend a conference of defense ministers from the Americas. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

TOLEMAIDA AIRBASE, Colombia – U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S. wants to know how far Turkey is willing to go in helping train and equip moderate opposition fighters trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Turkey has agreed to support efforts to train and equip the Syrian opposition. Hagel says the United States wants to know whether Ankara is willing to do the training inside Turkey itself.

Saudi Arabia, for instance, has agreed to host training facilities for Syrian rebels on its territory.

Assad's forces continue to fight opposition forces, but that civil war — now in its fourth year — has been eclipsed by Islamic militants' battle trying to overrun the city of Kobani along Syria's border with Turkey.

Hagel spoke Friday in Colombia where he was meeting military officials.