The Pentagon has revealed that on Thursday a U.S. F-16 fighter shot down a Turkish drone in Syria. Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the drone was operating less than half a mile from U.S. troops in Syria and was shot down after being deemed a threat. Ryder clarified, “We have no indication that the [sic] Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces.” A statement issued by a Turkish defense ministry official said the drone was not owned by Turkish military forces but didn’t clarify who might have been using the drone. Turkish forces in Syria have been targeting Syrian Kurdish YPG group and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey considers to be terrorist organizations. The PKK claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Ankara last weekend. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart after the drone was shot down and called the meeting “fruitful.”
