A U.S. Air Force F-16 shot down a Turkish drone over northeastern Syria considered a threat to U.S. forces there, a U.S. official told
The War Zone Thursday. The incident took place amid an increase in Turkish drone attacks on Kurdish targets in that region following a bombing in Ankara on Sunday that the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed credit for,
according to Reuters.
“The U.S. was definitely aware it was a Turkish drone,” said the official, speaking to
The War Zone on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. The official did not know what kind of drone was shot down.
The Turkish Defense Ministry (MoD) said that the drone did not belong to the Turkish armed forces,
according to Reuters.
The U.S. has
about 900 troops in that area, continuing the ongoing fight against the ISIS jihadi group. Forces assigned to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) continue to partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in that fight, which were instrumental in the ultimate
defeat of ISIS physical caliphate in 2019. Last month, there were eight partnered operations in Syria, with one ISIS operative killed and seven detained, according to CENTCOM.
The U.S.-SDF relationship has long created tensions with NATO ally Turkey, which considers the SDF an extension of the PKK.
Turkish officials on Wednesday claimed the two attackers who bombed Ankara had come from Syria. The bombing killed both attackers and wounded two police officers. The SDF denied the bombers passed through their territory.
The incident comes as Turkey has stepped up its drone campaign against Kurdish targets following a bombing in Ankara on Sunday.
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