Turk ‘warning’ rounds fired at US outpost
Turkish forces who launched multiple artillery rounds near a US Special Operations outpost in northeastern Syria on Saturday have known for months that Americans were there, according to four current and former US officials, raising questions whether Turkey is trying to push American troops farther from the border.
The incident occurred on a hilltop base overlooking the town of Kobane as Turkey continues an operation launched Tuesday against Syrian Kurds, some of whom the United States has partnered with for years in its campaign against the Islamic State. The incursion has focused on an area 100km to the west of Kobane, but US officials believe Turkey has long-term aspirations to control a much larger swath of Syria.
The rounds landed about 9pm local time within a few hundred metres of the base on Mistenur Hill, US officials said. Navy Captain Brook DeWalt, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that the US troops ‘‘came under artillery fire’’ but were unharmed and that there was an explosion.
‘‘The US demands that Turkey avoid actions that could result in immediate defensive action,’’ DeWalt said.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said its troops had not fired on the Americans and were acting ‘‘in self-defence’’ after one of their border posts was attacked.
But the situation, first reported by Newsweek, was more serious than characterised on Saturday, several officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
One army officer who has deployed to northeastern Syria and has knowledge of the situation said that multiple rounds of 155mm fire were launched from Turkey’s side of the border and that they had a ‘‘bracketing effect’’ in which shells landed on both sides of the US outpost.
‘‘That’s an area weapon,’’ the officer said, referring to the effects the rounds have. ‘‘That’s not something we ever would have done to a partner force.’’
The officer said that Turkey knew there were Americans on the hill and that it had to be deliberate. The service members vacated the outpost after the incident but returned yesterday, according to a US official and images circulating on social media.
‘‘We had been there for months, and it is the most clearly defined position in that entire area,’’ the officer said.
Brett McGurk, a former special envoy for both the Obama and Trump administrations in the campaign against the Islamic State, raised concerns about the incident on Saturday, saying on Twitter that the United States had declared the position to Turkey. ‘‘This was not a mistake,’’ he said. McGurk, who often collaborated with the U.S. military in Syria before resigning his position in December, emphasised the increasing risks to Americans throughout Syria in an email Saturday.
‘‘Turkey wants us off the the entire border region to a depth of 30 kilometres,’’ he said. ‘‘Based on all the facts available, these were warning fires on a known location, not inadvertent rounds.’’ – Washington Post