Turkish air attacks on Syria threaten US personnel: Pentagon

Turkey has stepped up air assaults on northern Syria for the reason that November 13 Istanbul bombing.

Turkish air assaults in northern Syria threaten the protection of United States navy personnel and the escalating state of affairs is jeopardising years of progress in opposition to ISIL (ISIS) fighters, the Pentagon has stated.

The general public feedback on Wednesday symbolize the strongest condemnation by the US of NATO ally Turkey’s air operations in latest days in opposition to Kurdish-led YPG (Individuals’s Safety Items) forces in northern Syria up to now.

“Current air strikes in Syria instantly threatened the protection of U.S. personnel who’re working in Syria with native companions to defeat ISIS and preserve custody of greater than ten thousand ISIS detainees,” the Pentagon’s spokesman, Air Pressure Brigadier Common Pat Ryder, stated in a press release.

Ryder stated the escalating state of affairs threatened the progress made within the battle in opposition to ISIL fighters within the area.

He added that the US recognises Turkey’s “authentic safety considerations”.

“Rapid de-escalation is important with a view to preserve concentrate on the defeat-ISIS mission and make sure the security and safety of personnel on the bottom dedicated to the defeat-ISIS mission,” Ryder added.

The feedback from the US official come after Russia additionally warned in opposition to a Turkish floor operation in Syria.

The US has roughly 900 troopers in Syria, primarily within the northeast of the nation, who work with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is led by the YPG, to battle in opposition to ISIL remnants.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday that Turkey’s air operations have been solely the start and that it could launch a land operation when handy after an escalation in retaliatory strikes.

Ankara launched air operations on the weekend in retaliation for an Istanbul bomb assault every week earlier that killed six individuals, and which it blamed on the Kurdistan Employees’ Celebration (PKK) and the YPG. No one has claimed accountability and the PKK and YPG have denied involvement.

Turkey has beforehand launched navy incursions in Syria in opposition to the YPG, concerning it as a wing of the outlawed PKK, which Turkey, the US and the European Union designate as a “terrorist” group.

The PKK and the YPG share shut ideological ties.

This isn’t the primary time Turkey’s operations in northern Syria have threatened US personnel. In 2019, American troops within the space got here underneath artillery hearth from Turkish positions as Turkey waged an offensive in opposition to US-allied Kurdish fighters on the time.

Turkey has repeatedly complained to the US that help for the YPG-led SDF undermines Washington’s place on the PKK and its dedication to Turkey’s safety.

Erdogan maintains that Turkey will solely be capable to take away the menace from the PKK and the YPG by clearing the militias from the Turkey-Syria border and making a “secure zone” in northern Syria.