Incident occurred as Turkey was targeting Kurdish forces in Syria in response to a suicide bombing in Ankara
US warplanes shot down a Turkish drone over Syria, citing it as a threat to American forces in the region, as reported by the Pentagon.
According to Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder, US troops had observed drones conducting strikes in a"restricted operating zone" near Hasakeh, located less than a mile from American forces. Following the incident, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, in which he emphasized the need for de-escalation in northern Syria and maintaining adherence to de-confliction protocols and military-to-military communication channels.
These troops often conduct raids targeting IS militants. US forces are closely allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces , which played a key role in driving IS fighters out of Syria in 2019.