Turkey, NATO Allies Agree On Sites For Patriot Batteries

Soldiers of the German armed forces train with a Patriot missile battery.

Turkey and its NATO allies have agreed on the locations where Patriot air-defense batteries are to be stationed along the country's border with restive Syria.

A NATO press release said the three countries that have agreed to provide the antimissile batteries -- the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States -- made the decisions together with Turkey following a military assessment.

Germany will deploy at Kahramanmaras; the Netherlands at Adana; and the United States at Gaziantep.

The press release emphasized that the deployment is entirely defensive in nature and it is not part of a no-fly zone or any offensive operation.

Turkey requested the air-defense systems after repeatedly being shelled from Syria and scrambling jets to respond to Syrian warplanes along the border.

Russia and Iran have criticized the deployment as provocative.

With reporting by Reuters