On Friday, US Special Forces met with Turkish troops and Syrian militias in the border town of al-Rai, 25 kilometers northeast of Dabiq, several sources have reported.
Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, citing sources within the Arab militia, reported that the goal of the coalition of forces was to take Dabiq on the way to al-Bab, 35 kilometers further south of Dabiq.
The US forces were not welcome by all the Syrian militias, however. Video shared on social media purported to show the US troops being forced out of al-Rai by militias threatening to “slaughter” them, saying they do not accept collaboration with Americans.
“They were the Ahrar al-Shariya group, who originally came from Deir ez-Zor,” a member of the opposition told The Guardian. “They didn’t quite chase them out, but the Americans thought it better that they leave.”
The US forces that left al-Rai numbered four or five, a rebel source told Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the US forces had departed from al-Rai but remained in Syria.
The Pentagon has not confirmed or denied the incident but has stated that US Special Forces are operating with the Turkish army and select Syrian rebel groups in northern Syria.
One of the militias that is fighting under the Free Syrian Army's (FSA) banner as part of Turkey's Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, Ahrar al-Sharqiya, published a video on Friday saying they would refuse to continue to participate in the Euphrates Shield operation as long as the US Special Forces were on Syrian soil.
They said they opposed the American cooperation with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The US is working with the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey accuses of being a branch of the PKK.
