The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said today, Saturday, that two missiles of unknown origin targeted the US base in Al-Shadadi in northern Syria, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that his goal of military operations in northern Syria is to establish a "security belt from west to east" along the southern border of his country. .

The command added in a statement that the attack that took place at dawn today did not result in injuries or damage to the base, noting that the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces inspected the launch site of the two missiles and found a third missile that was not fired.

The US Central Command confirmed that these attacks endanger the coalition forces and civilians and undermine security and stability in Syria and the region.

It is the third time in a week that a base housing US forces has been targeted in northeastern Syria.

During the past week, the Green Village base in the Al-Omar oil field, which is one of the largest US bases in eastern Syria, was targeted by a missile.

The US military said it was investigating the incident, while the Syrian Observatory reported that the missiles were launched from a site where pro-Iranian groups are located in the nearby city of Al-Mayadeen.

The international coalition forces - most notably the US forces - are deployed in the areas of influence of the Kurdish forces and their allies in northeastern and eastern Syria.

There are also American forces at the Al-Tanf base in the south, near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

security belt

In a related context, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is working to establish a "security belt" along its southern border as soon as possible.

Since last Sunday, Turkey has launched a series of air raids and artillery strikes on northeastern Syria and sites of Kurdish fighters under the name "Operation Claw-Sword".

The security zone that Erdogan wants - de facto - will include the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani, as the Kurds call it), which the Syrian Democratic Forces seized from Islamic State militants in 2015 with the support of the United States, and these forces are dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

Erdogan said - in a speech on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women - that "with the security belt that we are establishing outside our borders, we will defend the rights of millions of innocent women and children."

"God willing, we will accomplish this (the area) along our entire border from west to east as soon as possible," he added.

The Turkish president - who intends to launch a ground attack "when the time comes" - has identified the Syrian towns (Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab) to complete his 30-kilometer-deep security zone along the southern border.

The Turkish president also affirmed that his government's responsibility in managing the country requires holding accountable those he described as the killers of women and children.

He added, "If we do not hold the killers of women and children accountable, this means that we have not fulfilled our responsibility in running the country, and we have not performed our most basic human duties either."

ongoing process

For his part, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed on Friday that the military operation continues to carry out air strikes and artillery shelling, and that 326 "terrorists" have been killed so far, as he put it.

Akar added that the Turkish forces will do everything necessary to eliminate terrorism and ensure the security of Turkey, its citizens and its borders, and he denied that the Turkish forces had targeted civilians or targets of the US-led coalition forces during the implementation of the military operations in northern Syria.

Commenting on the Turkish operation, the US special envoy to north and east Syria, Nicholas Grainger, said that his country strongly opposes military action that destabilizes Syria, adding that Washington did not agree to the Turkish strikes in Syria.

Grainger continued, in his interview with media outlets loyal to what is known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, that the current military operations threaten joint action against ISIS.