AP | Canada

NATO says it has picked three sites in southern Turkey to base batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles intended to boost the nation’s air defences against possible spillover from Syria.

Germany, the Netherlands and the United States will provide two batteries each of an advanced version of the Patriot optimized to shoot down incoming missiles. More than 1,000 troops from the three nations will service the batteries.

Spokeswoman Oana Lungescu reiterated in a statement Saturday that the deployment will be purely defensive and will not support a no-fly zone inside Syria.

The Germans will be based unit at Kahramanmaras, located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the Syrian border; the Dutch at Adana, about 100 kilometres (66 miles) west; and the Americans at Gaziantep, about 50 kilometres north.

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