A deadly Turkish drone strike against a base used jointly by Kurdish and American forces in northeast Syria did put U.S. troops in danger after all, Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday.
The drone strike, against a base north of the city of Hasakeh on Tuesday, killed two fighters belonging to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). CENTCOM on Tuesday released a statement saying that the strike did put U.S. personnel in danger.
"We have received additional information that there was a risk to U.S. troops and personnel," CENTCOM said in a new statement to AFP on Wednesday, without elaborating.
The SDF said that the base was used to plan and execute joint operations against the Islamic State (IS), a jihadist group that a Washington-led international coalition helped Kurdish-led forces vanquish in northeastern Syria in early 2019.
Ankara launched a series of air and drone strikes as part of Operation “Claw-Sword” from Sunday, in retaliation for a bomb attack in Istanbul on November 13 that killed six people and wounded 81.
