HATAY

Germany is withdrawing its Patriot missile systems from Turkey, about three years after bringing them in.

Sources from the Turkish port of Iskenderun said the Danish ship with the patriot missile systems left Turkey on Tuesday. The ship is headed to Germany.

The German government has previously said that the mandate of the mission would end on January 2016.

Germany had deployed Patriot batteries in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras in January 2013, as part of a NATO mission to counter possible threats from Syria.

Germany provided two of five NATO batteries and around 250 personnel for the mission.