A top American ally in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) has confirmed that he was targeted for assassination Friday within the vicinity of the international airport in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, when a drone exploded nearby, setting off a small fire but causing no damage or casualties. Turkey is widely believed to have carried out the attack, though Turkish Defense Ministry officials have denied any involvement in the affair, according to Agence France-Presse.

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said “Yes, the attack took place near a convoy that was taking us to the airport.” Ilham Ahmed, head of the Syrian Democratic Council, a top governing body in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria, was with him when the drone struck the airport perimeter.

Kobane called the drone strike “a flagrant attack on Iraq and its sovereignty.”

US Central Command said late Friday that three US military officials were also in the convoy. The Pentagon said the strikes “directly threatened the safety of US personnel,” working to defeat IS, but did not indicate who was responsible. Kobane was traveling to the airport to board a plane belonging to the US military to carry him back to northeast Syria.