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The Pentagon has allocated $130 million in its 2026 budget under the Counter-Daesh Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) to support armed groups in Syria, including the terrorist group PKK/YPG-dominated SDF.
According to a Department of Defense (DoD) document on budget justification, the fund aims to support training, equipment, and monthly stipends of the U.S.-backed SDF and Syrian Free Army (SFA) based in southeastern Syria, along with "vetted partner forces" in Iraq and Lebanon.
Of the total $130 million earmarked for Syria, $7.42 million is set aside for the Syrian Free Army, which the Pentagon expects will “extend its reach” against Daesh remnants in the Badiyah Desert.
The vast majority of the funding, however, will go to the PKK/YPG-led SDF, the document indicates. The Pentagon notes the allocation includes light weapons, medical supplies, and facility repairs.
According to DoD, this support aims to address a potential Daesh resurgence, which it describes as a threat to "U.S. national interests, the people of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, and the global community."
This latest funding follows $147.9 million allocated in 2025 and $156 million in 2024 that Washington provided to similar groups in Syria under the banner of fighting Daesh.
Türkiye has long rejected this justification as a cover for arming terrorist actors on its border.
The YPG is widely recognized as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., and the European Union.
In its decades-long terror campaign, the PKK has caused the deaths of over 40,000 people, including civilians, women, and children.
For the first time, the 2026 Pentagon budget includes $15 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces to bolster their counterterrorism capabilities, particularly in the southern Litani area near Israel.
The document states that Daesh "continues to exploit the porous Syria-Lebanon border for logistics and recruitment."
When asked about the U.S. position on northeastern Syria and the role of the SDF, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, who also serves as the U.S. special representative for Syria, told Anadolu Agency (AA), "There’s only going to be one nation-state that we’re going to deal with, and that’s the government of Syria."
"The SDF, which had a component of what we call PKK/YPG, fought by the side of the Americans and their mission and against Daesh. The SDF has to integrate, both militarily and politically, into the new Syria…as do the Alawites, as do the Druze, as do the other communities who are seeking representation," he added.
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The PKK frequently operates from northern Iraq, using the region to plan and carry out cross-border attacks into Türkiye.
The YPG, functioning as its Syrian branch, continues to receive support from the United States, despite Türkiye's repeated objections.
While Ankara has not officially commented on the latest budget allocation, the continued U.S. support for the YPG-led SDF fuels ongoing concerns about American backing for groups that Türkiye considers terrorist organizations.
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