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A US fighter jet has shot down a Turkish drone in north-eastern Syria in what the Pentagon described as a “regrettable incident” that comes at a time of increased tension between the Nato allies.
Pat Ryder, spokesperson for the Pentagon, said the action had been taken in “self defence” by an F-16 jet. He added that there was no indication that Turkey, which this week launched air raids in northern Syria and Iraq against a terror group that claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Ankara, was targeting US forces.
Around 7.30am local time on Thursday, US forces in Syria spotted drones conducting strikes inside a “declared restricted US operating zone” about 1km from US forces, Ryder said. A Turkish drone re-entered the zone four hours later, leading US military commanders to assess that it was a “potential threat”. A fighter shot down the drone about 10 minutes later, he said.
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, spoke about the matter with Turkey’s defence minister Yaşar Güler on Thursday. Austin insisted US forces were in Syria only to support the global coalition fighting terror group Isis, and the two vowed to keep co-ordinating closely, Ryder said. He added that Turkey remained a “valuable” partner to Washington.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Friday that an unmanned drone “was lost due to different technical assessments in the de-escalation mechanism operated with third parties. Necessary measures are being taken to ensure more effective operation of the . . . mechanism”.
The drone incident comes after a suicide bombing targeted Turkey’s interior ministry in Ankara on Sunday, injuring two police officers. A civilian was also killed when the assailants hijacked his car prior to the attack, which took place on the same day the country’s parliament was reopening from its summer recess.
The Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), a separatist group that has fought a years-long insurgency in Turkey, claimed responsibility for the attack. Ankara retaliated within 12 hours of the bombing, launching air raids on sites in northern Iraq where the group is based.
Turkey’s government said on Wednesday evening that its investigation had found both of the suicide bombers had come from Syria. Foreign minister Hakan Fidan said the PKK and another group called the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) would be targeted in Iraq and Syria.
“All infrastructure, superstructure facilities, energy facilities belonging to the PKK/YPG in Iraq and Syria are the total legitimate targets of our security forces from now on,” Fidan said.
Turkey hit 30 targets affiliated with the PKK and YPG in northern Syria in air raids on Thursday, according to the defence ministry. The targets included an oil facility, bunkers and warehouses.
Turkey and the US have designated the PKK a terror organisation. Ankara views the YPG as synonymous with the PKK. Washington, however, has supported the YPG through an umbrella organisation known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The US has provided the SDF with arms and training for its battle against terror organisation Isis, something that has drawn strong criticism from Ankara.
Fahrettin Altun, Turkey’s communications director and a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday morning: “We expect and call upon our allies and partners to see the PKK and its offshoots in the region for who they are and end their support.”
He added: “As our President Erdoğan says, there is no good terrorist. You cannot fight one terror group with another.”
The drone incident comes at a fraught moment in relations between the west and Turkey. Erdoğan agreed in July to approve Sweden’s request to join the Nato military alliance. But Turkey’s parliament has yet to ratify the request, which was made following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, despite strong pressure from Washington and Brussels.
Turkey’s vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz told the Financial Times last month that Ankara expects Sweden to take further “concrete” measures to fight extremist groups within its borders, including the PKK and YPG, before parliament is likely to approve its accession.
Ankara is also strongly lobbying Washington to approve its request to buy billions of dollars worth of F-16 fighter jets. The Biden administration has said it is supportive of the purchases, but it has been held up in Congress, which must approve the deal.
