There are multiple reports right now of artillery landing close to U.S. troops in the Syrian city of Kobane, thankfully with no injuries reported:
.@barbarastarrcnn reports: Turkish artillery landed close to a US Special Ops base in Syria; no injuries reported as of now
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 11, 2019
An explosion has occurred near a U.S. position where American troops remain outside Kobane in Syria, a U.S. official said Friday.
Not believed that the position was bombed. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of situation, said everyone is ok. 1/
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) October 11, 2019
It is not clear whether the explosion came from indirect fire, such as artillery or rockets, the official said. It's also not clear who is responsible. 2/
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) October 11, 2019
Newsweek reported the explosion here. Am told it definitely *wasn't* a bombing. Other details unclear. 3/https://t.co/InOrbp5wSs
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) October 11, 2019
This is nuts:
“A senior Pentagon official said shelling was so heavy that the U.S. personnel considered firing back in self-defense.” https://t.co/by7aleTUXq
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 11, 2019
A U.S. officials says “it does not appear to be a deliberate hit”:
US official confirms to ABC the attack was carried out by Turkish artillery. It does not appear to be a deliberate hit – @LMartinezABC https://t.co/WBe74kPIgd
— ? Ghoulia Macfarlane ? (@juliamacfarlane) October 11, 2019
Earlier, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley warned that “we are the United States military, we retain the right of self-defense”:
.@barbarastarrcnn reports Turkish artillery struck near US troops in Kobane, all US personnel unharmed. Gen Milley said the below hours ago: https://t.co/uAv971XCis
— Ryan Browne (@rabrowne75) October 11, 2019
Gen. Milley and Defense Sec. Esper are also trying to reassure the Kurds that the U.S. has not abandoned them:
Esper: "We remain in close coordination with the Syrian Democratic Forces who helped us destroy the physical caliphate of ISIS, but I will not place American service members in the middle of a longstanding conflict between the Turks and the Kurds, this is not why we are in Syria" https://t.co/A125hJcUhA
— Kylie Atwood (@kylieatwood) October 11, 2019
And they can’t explain why Turkey decided to take action now:
Milley & Esper seemed to say US was powerless to stop Turkey from attacking the SDF: Esper: "I can’t explain why they did what they did." There's “no indication they are willing to stop." US had to move its forces to keep them safe but "nobody greenlighted” the Turkish operation.
— Katie Bo Williams (@KatieBoWill) October 11, 2019
***
Editor’s note: An additional tweet was added to this post.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member