A deadly Turkish drone strike on a base used jointly by Kurdish and American forces in northeast Syria did put US troops in danger after all, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday.
The drone strike, on a base north of the city of Hasakeh on Tuesday, killed two fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
CENTCOM had on Tuesday released a statement saying that the strike had not put US personnel in danger.
“We have received additional information that there was a risk to US troops and personnel,” CENTCOM said in a new statement to AFP on Wednesday, without elaborating.
The SDF said the base was used to plan and execute joint operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, an extremist group that a US-led international coalition helped Kurdish 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 İstanbul on Nov. 13 that killed six people and wounded 81.
It says it is targeting rear bases of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which dominates the SDF.
Both Kurdish groups denied responsibility for the Istanbul attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday yet again alluded to the possibility of a cross-border ground operation, a threat he has repeatedly made.