When Turkey deploys drones to attack a military base in Syria, the US military thinks that its soldiers are in danger.
According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), Turkey attacked a base in the vicinity of the northeastern Syrian city of Al-Hasakah on November 22. The base was home to US forces and members of the Democratic Forces of Syria (SDF), a Kurdish militia group. Two group members were reportedly killed in the attack, according to the SDF.
CENTCOM issued a statement on November 23 stating, “We have information that there is a risk to US troops and personnel.”
The agency confirmed that no US troops were hurt, but it would not say how many personnel were in danger or where they were.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder later claimed that the airstrikes “directly threaten the safety of US personnel participating in the operation against the Islamic State (IS) self-proclaimed caliphate” and that they “secured the detention of more than 10,000 members of the group.”
The Pentagon was worried about the “purposeful targeting of civilian infrastructure,” according to General Ryder, who demanded a swift de-escalation on the Turkish-Syrian border.
On the US report, Turkey has not yet made any comments.
Given that Turkey is a NATO member and a significant partner of the US in the region, CNN claims that the US’s decision to publicly state that Ankara poses a risk to US troops is extraordinary. The US and the SDF are both allies, and the SDF is crucial to the coalition led by the US in its fight against IS.
Turkish airstrikes targeting Kurdish militia sites in northern Syria and Iraq that it claims are used by “terrorists” have been conducted since November 20. Ankara’s airstrikes claimed the lives of at least 39 civilians.
Under former president Barack Obama, the US military sent troops to Syria under the guise of battling IS in cooperation with the SDF. After IS was defeated, the US withdrew the majority of its personnel from Syria, but it still keeps a small number of facilities there with 900 troops to work with rebel militias and Kurdish forces “to attack the remains of IS.”
While the Pentagon has stated that US troops won’t leave until IS is completely destroyed and its allies in Syria are protected, Syria and Russia accuse the US of illegally setting up the al-Tanf base.
