On July 17, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency (known as AA in Turkey) published an article prepared by three reporters titled “US increases military posts supporting PKK/PYD in Syria,” in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party. The report revealed crucial information on some of the US bases and on French and American soldiers in the region. The article and a detailed map appeared in AA’s English version on July 18. On July 19, the leak spread to international media outlets. The US military told the press that publishing such sensitive information was “professionally irresponsible.”

Ankara seems to have heard the Pentagon’s concerns. Interestingly, the AA story did not make it to the government’s social media trolls. Indeed, only a few short pieces can be found in Islamist media bragging about the leaks.

On July 20, Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for the president’s office, said the Turkish government was not involved in the publication of the specific news. Kalin added, “This is a report prepared by AA based on their own network,” indicating the report was prepared by the reporters exclusively. Since international pressure focused on endangering American and French soldiers’ lives through the exposure of the secret bases, Kalin commented that they had “no intention to risk the lives of any of our allies” and they expect reciprocity from all of their allies. Within an hour of Kalin’s speech, the English version of the story was taken off AA’s webpage. But the full piece can be found on other websites, and AA kept the Turkish version online.

So why did such sensitive information about US military bases appear in Turkey’s state-owned news agency, and why was it deleted after the Pentagon’s concerns were made public?