A member of the Syrian opposition's Al-Buraq Brigade stands guard on a main road in the northern Syrian town of Ain Dakna near the Turkish border on Monday, December 10. Click through to view images of the fighting from December, or see photos of the conflict from November. A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position as he aims his weapon in Aleppo's al-Amereya district on Tuesday, December 11. Men warm themselves by a fire on a street corner in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, December 9. A rebel soldier watches Al-Jazeera news in a shop near the front lines in Aleppo on December 9. A rebel soldier prays in a shop in Aleppo on December 9. Syrians mourn a fallen fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on Saturday, December 8. A Syria rebel commander sits behind a desk in his bombed-out position in Aleppo on December 8. A Syrian rebel fighter emerges from a hole in a wall in Aleppo on December 8. Rebel fighters take part in a demonstration against the Syrian regime after Friday prayers in Aleppo on December 7. A wounded rebel fighter is transported to a hospital in the back of a truck in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday, December 6. At least 23 people died in Syria on Thursday, most of them in Damascus and Aleppo, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria. Rebel soldiers stand guard inside a building in Aleppo on December 6. Angelina Jolie, special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, meets with Syrian refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp outside Mafraq, Jordan, on December 6. In this handout from the Shaam News Network, Free Syrian Army fighters stand guard against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-khalidiya neighborhood of Homs on Tuesday, December 4. In this handout from the Shaam News Network, Free Syrian Army fighters take cover in destroyed buildings during clashes with regime forces on December 4. Syrians cross the border from Ras al-Ain, Syria, to the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar on Tuesday, December 4. Boys walk through a damaged area In Aleppo, Syria, seen through a destroyed car on December 4. A man inspects rubble in a neighborhood of Aleppo on Sunday, December 2. The bodies of three children reportedly killed in a mortar shell attack are laid out for relatives to identify at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on December 2. Smoke rises from fighting in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts of Aleppo on Saturday, December 1. Syrian-Kurdish women and members of the Popular Protection Units, an armed opposition group to the Syrian government, stand guard during a comrade's funeral in a northern Syrian border village on December 1.
- NEW: U.S. defense secretary is concerned what Syria's leader could do if cornered
- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed the order for missiles and troops en route to Turkey
- The U.S. military will send 400 personnel and two missile batteries to Turkey
- Move signals U.S. support for Turkey in the face of possible threats from Syria
(CNN) -- The United States gave the go-ahead Friday to deploy Patriot anti-ballistic missiles to Turkey along with enough troops to operate them as the heavily embattled government in neighboring Syria again vehemently denied firing ballistic missiles at rebels.
The United States has accused Damascus of launching Scud-type artillery from the capital at rebels in the country's north. One Washington official said missiles came close to the border of Turkey, a NATO member and staunch U.S. ally.
Syria's government called the accusations "untrue rumors" Friday, according to state news agency SANA. Damascus accused Turkey and its partners of instigating rumors to make the government look bad internationally.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed the order while en route to Turkey to send two Patriot missile batteries and 400 U.S. troops to operate them. The surface-to-air interceptors will help in "dealing with threats that come out of Syria," Panetta said after landing at Incirlik Air Base, a U.S. Air Force installation about 80 miles from Syria's border.
Panetta was unconcerned about possible reactions from Damascus to the Patriot deployment. "We can't spend a lot of time worrying about whether that pisses off Syria," he said, adamant that helping Turkey was the priority.
Assad staying despite slide in power The soundtrack of life in a refugee camp Syrian, 17, risks life to rescue Signs of Syrian regime weakening Panetta did say he was worried what Bashar al-Assad's government may do if it feels it is near collapse.
Descriptions provided to CNN by U.S. officials familiar with the latest intelligence suggest the Syrian leader's problems have accelerated internally as the opposition continues to capture more territory.
"It's at its lowest point yet," said one senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of the latest assessments. "The trend is moving more rapidly than it has in the past."
The officials agreed to talk on the condition their names not be used because they were not authorized to discuss the information with the media.
When asked what the response might be if Syria deployed chemical weapons, Panetta said that the U.S. military had "drawn up plans" but that "it's not easy" to defend against them.
Germany and the Netherlands have shown willingness to add two Patriot batteries each from their countries, NATO said Friday, to defend Turkey and "de-escalate the crisis on NATO's southeastern border."
NATO has also said it detected what appeared to be ballistic missile launches within Syria and condemned their possible use as "utter disregard for the lives of the Syrian people."
Turkey and NATO insist the Patriot system would be used only for defense.
Patriots are constructed to take out threats from warplanes and tactical ballistic missiles to unmanned aircraft by impacting with them in midair, according to Raytheon Co., which builds them. The U.S. military used to take out Scud missiles during the Iraq war.
CNN's Laura Smith-Spark and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
