A Defense Department spokesperson dismissed a bombshell report alleging that Turkish intelligence was behind the kidnapping of US-trained fighters in Syria, but offered no evidence to refute the claims.
Turkey, a NATO member and part of the anti-Islamic State coalition, is believed have double-crossed the Pentagon, according to a McClatchy news report published this week. The article said Ankara’s spies helped an al Qaeda-linked group ambush a group of 54 US-backed rebels fighting in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
Numerous rebel sources told the newspaper that only the US and Turkish governments knew of the whereabouts of the Pentagon’s ragtag group of moderate fighters before they were ambushed last month by the al-Nusra Front.
“From our perspective here,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said on Tuesday, “we have no indications that the Turkish government alerted al-Nusra Front to the location of those trainees.”
But when asked specifically if the Pentagon had investigated the matter and inquired with Turkish government officials about it, Cook demurred.
“I know that I personally didn’t ask the Turkish government about this. I can’t speak to other members of the [US] government,” he said.
The ambush and kidnapping struck a devastating blow to the military’s fledgling train and equip mission in Syria, which is already facing crippling headwinds, including low recruitment numbers and uncertain force protection plans.
News that Turkey may have played an active role in the attack may only further complicate an already strained relationship between Washington and Ankara. Observers, including Vice President Joe Biden, have accused Turkey of aiding Islamist militants fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Biden, who also accused the governments of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates of the same activity, quickly apologized for the remarks, which were made last October,
Tensions stem partially from US cooperation with Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria. The YPG, a Kurdish militant group on the front lines in the ISIL fight, are associated with the Kurdistan Workers Party—an insurgent group, considered a terrorist organization by the US and Turkish governments, that has long been fighting against Turkey for greater autonomy.
A spokesperson for the YPG was a source for some of the claims that Turkey was likely involved in the al-Nusra ambush.
“They want the Americans to train and equip rebels but only on their terms and to confront both the regime and the Islamic State,” Mustafa Abdi told McClatchy.
“This incident not only embarrassed the Americans and made the Free Syrian Army programs look weak compared to Nusra, but also makes working with Turkey on their terms even more important,” he added.
Despite the disagreements, an agreement announced over the weekend will see the two NATO allies soon flying sorties over two Syrian towns targeting ISIL fighters.
“Our cooperation with Turks and expansion of that cooperation remains a work in progress at this point,” Cook told reporters, commenting on the latest cooperation.
