CNN
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The US navy says American troops have been put in danger from a Turkish drone strike Tuesday on a base in Syria.
“We’ve got obtained further info that there was a danger to US Troops and personnel,” US Central Command mentioned in a brief assertion on Wednesday. No US service members have been injured within the strike, CENTCOM mentioned. They declined to offer any additional info on what number of troops have been put in danger or the place they have been situated in relation to the assault.
On Wednesday, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Gen. Yasar Guler. The readout didn’t supply particulars of the dialog, but it surely says the 2 spoke about “a number of objects of mutual strategic curiosity.”
An announcement from Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder in a while Wednesday mentioned the strikes “immediately threatened the protection of US personnel” working to defeat ISIS and to make sure custody “of greater than ten thousand ISIS detainees.”
Ryder referred to as for an “quick de-escalation” on the Turkey-Syria border and mentioned the Pentagon is “involved” about reviews concerning the “deliberate concentrating on of civilian infrastructure.”
The bottom close to Hasakah, Syria, is utilized by the US-led coalition to defeat ISIS and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF mentioned two of their fighters have been killed within the strike.
It’s important that the US has publicly mentioned American troops have been put in danger, as a result of Turkey is a NATO ally and a vital associate for the US within the area. On the similar time, the SDF are additionally US companions and a play a key function in US-led coalition’s mission to defeat ISIS.
Within the preliminary assertion concerning the strike on Tuesday, CENTCOM spokesman Col. Joe Buccino mentioned US troops weren’t on the base. In a press release on Tuesday Buccino mentioned, “We oppose any navy motion that destabilizes the state of affairs in Syria. These actions threaten our shared objectives, together with the continued struggle towards ISIS to make sure the group can by no means resurge and threaten the area.”
“Turkey does proceed to undergo a reliable terrorist menace, notably to their south. They definitely have each proper to defend themselves and their residents,” mentioned Nationwide Safety Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on a name with reporters Tuesday. “What considerations us about cross-border operations stays the identical … that it’d drive a response by a few of our SDF companions that may restrict or constrain their potential to struggle towards ISIS, and that’s what we’re doing on the bottom with them.”