This is the first US operation over Erdogan-controlled territory

US Targets Militants in Turkish-Held Area in Syria

photo_camera AFP/ISAAC BREKKEN - A remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft flies past during a training mission.

Central Command spokesman Army Major John Rigsbee announced on Friday, October 23, the killing of senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar in a drone strike in the Suluk region of Raqqa province. The spokesman also added the terrorist organization uses Syria as a haven to rebuild its influence in the region that poses a serious threat to the security of the United States and its partners. According to Rigsbee, the assassination of Al-Matar disrupted the al-Qaeda's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks.

It was another elimination operation of the al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Din leaders that threatens the world security. It would seem that the U.S. did what they keep their military contingent in Syria for – to “fight terrorism.” However, there are several details of this operation that should be noticed.
 

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Firstly, this MQ-9 Reaper strike is the first case of an American strike in the Turkish-controlled area in northern Raqqa, the Peace Spring Operation zone. It means that the U.S. officially confirmed the elimination of a terrorist, who was operating in the territory, which is controlled by another NATO member country.

It surprised many analysts and experts – why extremists such as al-Matar calmly operate in the same area with Turkish military. However, you can easily detect close ties between pro-Turkish proxies and terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS. The most striking instance of such cooperation is Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham Islamist group, which closely interact with Turkey in Idlib.

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Secondly, the recent unmanned mission in Syrian airspace was kept out of the Turkish eye. Actually, this strike was not coordinated with Turkey.

These facts go beyond the scope of a regular military operation. Is it an expected result of US-Turkish relations, which are currently at an unprecedented low level? Apparently, the White House has lost Turkey’s credibility, while as Ankara seeks to pursue an independent policy and, according to the Pentagon, makes insufficient efforts in the fight against terrorism. Meanwhile, Ankara’s officials have not commented on this incident, but thereon tensions between the main actors in the region have grown up.

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