Syrian Kurds urge the US-led coalition to say clearly where it stands on Turkish drone attacks

The Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria on Friday called on the U.S.-led coalition to make clear where it stands regarding Turkish drone strikes that have killed and wounded dozens of Syrian Kurdish fighters over the past months.

The appeal by the local authorities — known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria — came a day after a Turkish drone hit a car, killing four members of the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and wounding two.

Ankara says the main Syrian Kurdish militia is allied with Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984 that has killed tens of thousands of people. Ankara has declared the PKK a terrorist group.

Syrian Kurdish forces were a major U.S. ally in the war against the militant Islamic State group, which was defeated in Syria in March 2019.

Thursday’s drone attack was the latest in a monthslong escalation between Turkey and Kurdish fighters in Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said its six members were in a car, heading to their homes for a break when they were attacked on a road near the town of Qamishili on Thursday night.

Friday’s statement said the U.S.-led coalition needs “to have a clear stance … regarding the targeting of our people and fighters.”

There was no immediate reaction from the coalition.

The Associated Press