U.S. Shoots Down Its Own Ally's Drone: Reports

The United States military on Thursday reportedly shot down a Turkish drone in Syria that was deemed a potential threat after it came too close to U.S. military personnel.

The drone was assessed to be operating in too close of proximity to U.S. troops on the ground in Hasakah, Syria, a U.S. official told the Associated Press. The official, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity, said the drone was flying in an "unsafe" and "unsynchronized" manner.

The AP noted: "Typically, the U.S. and Turkish militaries, which are NATO allies, work in close coordination in conducting air maneuvers."

A Turkish Defense Ministry official said the drone involved in the incident did not belong to the Turkish armed forces, Reuters reported.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense and Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.

Two anonymous U.S. officials told Reuters that the U.S. gave "multiple" warnings to Turkish military officials that the drone was too close to their personnel. The unnamed U.S. officials said an American F-16 fighter jet was responsible for taking the drone down.

One of the officials told Reuters: "The Turkish drone was believed to be armed."

The U.S., which has around 900 troops in Syria for missions related to countering Islamic State group militants, has long been at odds with Turkey due to U.S. support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syria's Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) militia.

Turkey considers the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces to be part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is labeled a terrorist group by the West. However, the SDF and the YPG are part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State in Syria.

The drone incident follows a week of escalated tensions in the region. PKK reportedly claimed responsibility in comments made to the Firat News Agency for a Sunday suicide attack outside Turkey's Interior Ministry that saw one person blow himself up and another suspected bomber killed by police.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the attack that Ankara's intelligence determined the suicide bombers were from Syria and his country would target PKK sites. Syrian Democratic Forces denied the bombers came through its territory.

On Wednesday, Turkey hit Kurdish militant targets in Syria and Iraq with airstrikes. Reuters reported that a war monitor said eight people were killed on Thursday by Turkish drone strikes on Kurdish-held parts of Syria.

Update 10/05/23, 2:36 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include more background information.