This is an incident that highlights the risks to the US military of the Ankara offensive. US troops met on Friday (October 11th) under fire from Turkish positions near Kobane town in northern Syria, a Pentagon spokesman said.
According to the US Department of Defense, the incident occurred around 9:00 pm local time, outside the "security zone" that Turkey, near Syria at war, seeks to establish along its border to to separate it from the territories controlled by the Kurdish militia of the People's Protection Units (YPG), which it describes as "terrorist".
An "explosion" occurred in "an area where the Turks are informed of the presence of US forces," said captain Brook DeWalt in a statement, saying that the artillery fire did not cause injuries among US soldiers .
Washington also calls on Ankara "to avoid any action that may lead to an immediate response" and indicates that its forces "have not withdrawn from Kobane".
Trump blows hot and cold
Turkish forces on Friday intensified their deadly bombings of Kurdish targets in northern Syria, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the offensive would continue despite US warnings.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday during a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump the need for the Turkish offensive launched Wednesday in northeastern Syria to cease as soon as possible, said the Elysee.
France and the United States, which share common concerns, will remain closely coordinated in the coming days, added the French presidency in a statement released on Friday night.
After seeming to give the go-ahead to this operation by removing US soldiers from border areas in northern Syria, President Donald Trump blew the hot and cold, threatening to "annihilate" the Turkish economy if Ankara "exceeded terminals".
With AFP and Reuters