p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Tahoma; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Tahoma; color: #232323; -webkit-text-stroke: #232323} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #000000} The Pentagon held Turkey responsible for shelling American units in the Syrian city of Kobani on Friday, highlighting risks to US forces after President Donald Trump allowed Turkey to launch attacks into northeastern Syria.

“US troops in the vicinity of Kobani came under artillery fire from Turkish positions,” said Navy Capt. Brook DeWalt, the Pentagon’s director of press operations. “The explosion occurred within a few hundred meters of a location outside the Security Mechanism zone and in an area known by the Turks to have US forces present.” 

The American troops in question are safe and no artillery fire has been reported in the area since the attack, which took place at nine o’clock on Friday in Kobani, DeWalt said. The US does not plan to withdraw units from the area. A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) official speaking not for attribution to Al-Monitor confirmed that no coalition forces had been harmed. 

But the Pentagon, which said Ankara knew that US forces were present at the position just outside the one-time ‘safe zone,’ appeared to push back strongly against denials from Turkey.