A U.S. F-16 fighter jet shot down an armed Turkish drone that was operating near American troops in Syria Thursday after several warnings, according to U.S. officials.
The shootdown came after repeated communications to stay away from U.S. ground troops near al Hasakah, in northeastern Syria.
The US and Turkey support different factions in the Syrian civil war. This video from Real Life Lore goes in depth with Turkey’s position in NATO, and IIRC it does mention about Syria:
It’s complicated. On the one hand, everyone - US, EU, the Kurds, Turkiye, Syria and Russia - is united against ISIL. But among them, the US and EU support the Kurds while Turkiye hates them (historical reasons). Even more worryingly for Turkiye, Syria and Russia seem okay with the Kurds. So Turkiye has attacked Kurdish strongholds, raising tensions with everyone else.
I too enjoy shooting down my ally’s aircraft as an indication of how much I respect them.
Doesn’t NATO have aligned goals in Syria?
The US and Turkey support different factions in the Syrian civil war. This video from Real Life Lore goes in depth with Turkey’s position in NATO, and IIRC it does mention about Syria:
https://youtu.be/AbXpOQCds8A
It’s complicated. On the one hand, everyone - US, EU, the Kurds, Turkiye, Syria and Russia - is united against ISIL. But among them, the US and EU support the Kurds while Turkiye hates them (historical reasons). Even more worryingly for Turkiye, Syria and Russia seem okay with the Kurds. So Turkiye has attacked Kurdish strongholds, raising tensions with everyone else.