Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey has reported a sharp rise in defense exports.

The Defense Industry Exporters Union said exports rose by 76 percent from July 2013 to July 2014. The union cited the sale of armored vehicles and night-vision systems to regional states, including Iraq and Libya.

At a news conference on Aug. 29, the union did not break down the latest exports.

Union chairman Latif Alis stressed that Turkey was not selling weapons to countries involved in conflict.

For the first six months of 2014, the union said, exports reached $952 million, or a 22 percent increase. Alis did not cite figures from the last half of 2013.

Industry sources said Turkey has overseen the export of its Kirpi armored fighting vehicle.

The sources said Iraq and Libya bought the platform as well as night-vision systems.

The Defense Industry Undersecretariat, or SSM, has set a goal of $2 billion in exports for 2014.

Ankara reported $1.4 billion in 2013 and announced plans to reach $25 billion in exports in 2023.

“This will be difficult to reach,” SSM director Ismail Demir said.

  Kirpi, Libya, Spike in Turkey’s military exports tied to Iraq