Things got ugly. A suicide bomb in Ankara, Turkey attacks Syria’s Kurdish-controlled areas, US downs a Turkish drone

It might be a first in recent years, one NATO member against the other…

According to multiple sources, including Reuters[1], Defense One[2], and Politico[3], a US F-16 fighter jet shot down an armed Turkish drone on October 5, 2023, that was flying over a base in northeast Syria where American forces are located. The drone was armed with air-to-ground missiles and was deemed a threat to the American troops. Before the shooting down the drone, U.S. officials communicated with the Turkish military and warned that U.S. forces had the right to self-defense. No U.S. forces were injured during the incident, and the Pentagon has no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. troops. The drone did not belong to the Turkish armed forces, but it is unclear whose property it was. The incident occurred after Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency carried out strikes in Syria against Kurdish militant targets after a bomb attack in Ankara last weekend.

Citations:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/turkish-officials-says-ground-operation-into-syria-an-option-after-bombing-2023-10-05/
[2] https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/10/pentagon-us-downed-turkish-drone-when-it-became-potential-threat/390987/
[3] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/05/u-s-f-16-shoots-down-turkish-drone-flying-over-u-s-forces-in-syria-00120166
[4] https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/10/us-downs-turkish-drone-turkey-bombs-infrastructure-syrias-kurdish-zone
[5] https://apnews.com/article/turkey-warplanes-syria-kurdish-militants-4e09c8c99e03b9504dd335299f113250
[6] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-drone-shot-turkey-syria-b2424841.html

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