The Turkish military shelled U.S. Special Forces during an operation the country insists was a mistake.
A senior Pentagon official and an Iraqi Kurdish intelligence official said Friday that U.S. Special Forces came under shelling from the Turks during their “Operation Peace Spring,” according to Newsweek.
The bombing of U.S. forces, which occurred in Kurdish-controlled territory in the northern Syrian city of Kobani, was described as a mistake by the Turkish Defense Ministry. U.S. forces withdrew after the shelling ceased and did not return fire. No fatalities have been reported.
The Pentagon official said that Turkey should have known where U.S. forces were “down to the grid.” U.S. officials who spoke with CNN were unsure if the incident was a mistake or deliberate. An estimated 15 to 100 troops were in the area where the bombings occurred. All are accounted for. According to U.S. officials, an American outpost in northeastern Syria has since been vacated, but they expect the evacuation to be temporary.
The incident comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fulfills his promise to invade northern Syria and establish a “safe zone.” President Trump announced that U.S. forces would be withdrawing from the region earlier this week, allowing Turkey to invade.
