Turkey strikes near US base in Syria after Pentagon calls for de-escalation
The US military says it opposes Ankara's plans to send ground troops against Syria's Kurds, but it has stood down in the face of similar attacks in the past.
A suspected Turkish drone strike hit a Kurdish-led militia base in northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing two members of a local US-backed Syrian counterterrorism unit and wounding three others, spokespeople for the group told Al-Monitor.
The strike hit the perimeter of the Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) base at Shamuka, which lies adjacent to the main US military base in the area some 45 kilometers from the Turkish border, a third well-placed source in Syria confirmed.
The sites have been known to house US diplomatic delegations and SDF commander Mazlum Abdi in the past, but it remains unclear if any such officials were present at the time of the attack. No US personnel were hurt in the incident, a defense official told Al-Monitor.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US-led coalition urged de-escalation in Syria, saying the strikes jeopardize the safety of civilians and the region's stability.
