The Pentagon has allocated $130 million in its 2026 budget under the Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) to support armed groups in Syria, including the YPG-dominated SDF.
According to a Department of Defence document on the justification of its 2026 budget, the fund aims to support the training, equipment, and monthly stipends of the US-backed SDF and Syrian Free Army based in southeastern Syria, along with "vetted partner forces" in Iraq and Lebanon.
Indicating that the allocation includes light weapons along with medical supplies and facility repairs, it said a Daesh (ISIS) "resurgence is a threat to US national interests, the people of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the global community."
The YPG is the Syrian extension of the PKK, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU.
The biggest share goes to the PKK/YPG terrorist group
Of the $130 million earmarked for Syria in the Pentagon’s 2026 budget, $7.42 million is allocated to the Syrian Free Army, which the document says is expected to “extend its reach” against Daesh remnants in the Badiyah Desert.
The vast majority of the funding, however, is directed toward the SDF.
This latest funding comes on top of $147.9 million in 2025 and $156 million in 2024 that Washington allocated to similar groups in Syria under the banner of fighting Daesh, a justification Türkiye has long rejected as a cover for arming terrorist actors on its border.
In its four-decade-long terror campaign, the PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people, including civilians, women, and children.
Türkiye argues that equipping the PKK/YPG under any label amounts to direct support for terrorism.
