Turkey earlier this week launched drone, air and artillery strikes on Syria and has vowed revenge on U.S.-allied Kurds for a Nov. 13 terror attack in Istanbul, a move that could lead to the release of thousands of imprisoned Islamic State terrorists, reports Fox News.
The United States has allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against Islamic State group in Syria, causing a deep rift with Turkey. SDF is led by the Syrian People's Protection Units (YPG).
Thousands of Islamic State terrorists from more than 50 countries have been incarcerated by Syrian Kurdish Forces.
"Recent airstrikes in Syria directly threatened the safety of U.S. personnel who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat ISIS and maintain custody of more than 10,000 ISIS detainees," Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, said Wednesday.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar vowed to keep up operations against the militants, renewing calls for NATO ally Washington to stop backing the Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara calls a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier this week said Turkey will attack militants with tanks and soldiers soon, though the SDF is pressuring the Biden administration to convince Erdoğan to back off.
"We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns," Erdogan said in a speech in northeastern Turkey. "God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers."
The White House told Axios the escalation in Syria "and along the Turkish-Syrian border in recent days is dangerous and a threat to the safety of civilians and U.S. personnel in Syria."
"We strongly oppose military action that further destabilizes the lives of communities in Syria and risks the Global Coalition's hard-earned progress against ISIS," the White House National Security Council spokesperson added. The U.S. still has around 900 troops in Syria.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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