ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The US Department of Defense said no US troops were injured when Turkish troops fired at them in Kobane, Syria on Friday, but declined to give many other details.
“US troops in the vicinity of Kobani came under artillery fire from Turkish positions at approximately 9 p.m. local Oct. 11.” read the Defense Department statement. “All US troops are accounted for with no injuries.”
On Friday night, Turkish forces reportedly fired at US troops in the northern Syrian town of Kobane near the Turkish border. Turkey is in the middle of an operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the country. The US is in Kobane to help the SDF in its continued fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
The US did not say whether it considers the artillery fire an accident, but that Turkish forces were aware the US was in the area.
The US said that the US troops’ position is outside the area of operations Turkey and the US agreed upon.
“The explosion occurred within a few hundred meters of a location outside the Security Mechanism zone and in an area known by the Turks to have U.S. forces present,” the department said.
Earlier this year, US and Turkish forces agreed on a security mechanism zone where Turkey is to operate in Syria.
The Turkish Ministry of Defence, however, said the shooting was reciprocal fire in the direction of "terrorist positions," and not US troops.
"We firmly reject the claim that US. or Coalition forces were fired upon," the ministry said in a statement, referring to the international coalition against ISIS the US leads.
American troops remain in Kobane, according to the US statement. The US hinted that similar incidents in the future could lead to a military response from the US against Turkey.
“The US demands that Turkey avoid actions that could result in immediate defensive action,” the department said.
Turkey began ground and air operations in northeast Syria this week after threatening to do so for months. Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies are now targeting SDF areas. Turkey considers the main Kurdish group in the SDF - the People’s Protection Units (YPG) - to be a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has fought in Turkey for decades.
The US backs the SDF in its fight against ISIS. On Sunday, after months of trying to assuage Turkey, US President Donald Trump ordered the repositioning of US troops in Syria and said Turkey would move forward with operations against the SDF.
The US says it is opposed to Turkey’s actions in Syria, though, and is now considering sanctions against its NATO ally.
