ANKARA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch Patriot missile batteries are being unloaded at Iskenderun port in southern Turkey on Tuesday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The ship, "Louise Russ," carrying the Dutch Patriot missile batteries with 160 military vehicles and 60 containers, waited near the Iskenderun port in Hatay province on Monday for NATO missile deployment, according to the report.
Germany, the Netherlands and the United States are each sending two Patriot systems and troops upon Turkey's request from NATO's help to bolster security along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria.
A Dutch military unit comprised of 270 soldiers have already arrived at Turkey.
A part of Patriot air defense systems from Germany was uploaded and taken to southern Kahramanmaras province of Turkey on Monday.
The Turkish government requested in November that its national air defense be reinforced with the support of NATO air defense elements. In last June, Syria shot down a Turkish warplane in the Mediterranean Sea, killing two crew members.
In October, several artillery shells from Syria struck a Turkish border town and killed five civilians.
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