Jordan denies presence of foreign troops at borders with Syria
11-05-2015 10:55 PM
Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan denied Monday reports that foreign troops are heavily deployed at its borders with Syria, according to a statement from the Jordan Armed Forces.
There are no U.S. soldiers or any other foreign soldiers deployed at the Jordanian-Syrian border or any Jordanian borders, the statement said.
Earlier in the day, local media reported that U.S. troops were heavily deployed at the Jordanian borders with Syria.
"Those reports are unreal and the Jordanian army is capable of defending the country and dealing with any threats," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Momani, the Jordanian minister of state for media affairs, said there are some U.S. soldiers in Jordan, but they are taking part along with other troops in an international military training in the Kingdom.
The military training, involving more than 10,000 soldiers, is held far from the borders with Syria, he said at a press conference.
Momani added that some F-16 fighter jets affiliated with the U.S. army are in Jordan and there are also some U.S. teams operating U.S. patriot missile in the Kingdom based on a request from the Jordanian government for defense purposes.
Jordan, a close U.S. ally in the region, is part of an international coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
* Xinhua