US Downs Turkish Drone as Ankara Strikes Northeast Syria

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Facts

  • As Turkey carried out a series of air strikes in northeast Syria in response to an attack in Ankara last week, US forces shot down a Turkish drone on Thursday that was operating near its troops in Syria. This is the first time that the US has brought down an aircraft its NATO ally.1
  • The Pentagon said it had considered the drone to be a threat to US forces, dispatching warplanes to shoot it down. US forces observed drones carrying out strikes in the morning, some of which were inside a 'restricted operating zone' near Hasakah — less than a mile or about 1 km from their positions — though Turkey claimed the drone did not belong to them.2
  • The Pentagon also said that warnings were issued to the Turkish military before the drone was eventually shot down. The strikes in northeast Syria killed at least eight people, six of whom were from US-backed local security forces, with three civilians also reportedly wounded.3
  • Both US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the new Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. CQ Brown, spoke with their Turkish colleagues following the incident to emphasize the necessity of strong US-Turkey relations. They emphasized the need to uphold the security of US forces in the region.4
  • Turkey's strikes were in response to an attack in Ankara last week attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which also took responsibility for the attack. Turkish strikes hit northern Iraq within hours of the attacks, with Turkey this week threatening the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).2
  • Turkey and the US have designated the PKK a terrorist organization, though Ankara believes that the People's Protection Units (YPG) —which is a critical component of the SDF — is an extension of the PKK in Syria. The US is partnered with the SDF in their joint fight against the Islamic State group (IS).5

Sources: 1Reuters, 2Al Jazeera, 3CNN, 4Associated Press and 5FT.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Rudaw. Yet again, Ankara's reckless behavior in Syria is threatening the safety of US forces stationed there. The US and the SDF have a strong relationship based on shared interests, namely preventing the resurgence of the Islamic State group. Turkey, which tolerated IS on its borders, has no right to kill civilians and destroy infrastructure in northeast Syria.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Daily Sabah. Though Turkey has always been clear that it values a strong relationship with the US, it should be no surprise to Washington that Turkey will respond to terror attacks with force. The PKK, a terrorist group, has taken over vast swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, partially with the support of Turkey's NATO ally. Given its strategy of terror, Turkey must respond by neutralizing PKK targets wherever they are.