TR Military Operations in Northern Iraq

Bogeyman 

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US troops suffered brain injuries after recent drone attack in Iraq, CENTCOM says​

U.S. troops have traumatic brain injuries resulting from a drone attack in Iraq last week that struck a convoy carrying them and the Syrian Kurdish commander of anti-Islamic State forces, U.S. Central Command has said.

The U.S. military said last week that the attack led to no casualties. Continued medical screening identified cases of TBI characterized as mild by CENTCOM on Wednesday.

“Our neurological team is closely monitoring these service members as they can continue to feel the effects of the attacks,” CENTCOM said in an emailed response to questions from Stars and Stripes.

A CENTCOM spokesman on Thursday did not say how many service members were hurt in the attack.

Friday’s drone strike in northern Iraq targeted Gen. Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group that the U.S. has allied with in the fight against ISIS.

Responsibility for the strike has been widely attributed to Turkey, although Ankara has denied these claims.

The attack and its aftermath highlight the complicated nature of American relations in the Middle East, where troops tasked with containing ISIS are partnering with Kurdish units seen as threats by NATO ally Turkey, while also defending against attacks from Iran and its proxy militias.

Ankara believes that the U.S.-backed SDF is a terrorist group affiliated with Kurds waging an insurgency in Turkey that has left 40,000 dead, a January report by the Council on Foreign Relations said.

But the U.S. views the SDF as separate from Kurdish groups that have been blacklisted internationally for terrorism. Washington has worked with the SDF since 2014 to defeat ISIS.

Three U.S. military personnel were in the convoy with Abdi at the time of the attack, with one service member riding in the same vehicle as the general, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Capt. Abigail Hammock, a CENTCOM spokeswoman, confirmed that the convoy had “included U.S. military personnel participating in routine operations with our partner forces in Iraq and Syria.”

Abdi said he was in Iraq with U.S. troops to talk with Kurdish anti-terrorism forces about fighting ISIS, Al Jazeera reported Sunday. The general called the attack a “clear message from the Turks,” the report said.

Unidentified Western officials also blamed Turkey for the attack in reports by The Wall Street Journal and the Al-Monitor news site. Iraq’s government held Turkey responsible and demanded an official apology Sunday.

Turkey said their military didn’t undertake any operations in the area that day, Reuters reported Sunday. The Turkish directorate for communications did not respond to questions sent by Stars and Stripes on Thursday.

CENTCOM didn’t mention Turkey or Abdi in its statements about the attack, saying only that it strongly opposes any action that threatens the safety and security of U.S. personnel.

Turkey has been launching attacks into Syria and Iraq for years, sometimes killing civilians and U.S.-trained SDF fighters, Myles Caggins III, a senior nonresident fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy, based in Washington, said Thursday.

Caggins, a retired U.S. Army colonel who served as spokesman for the U.S. task force against ISIS until September 2020, said the U.S. has been loath to acknowledge these attacks, except in vague terms.

“U.S. government officials are quick to point the finger when Iran conducts drone strikes and rocket attacks in Iraq and Syria, and yet when Turkey exhibits the same behaviors, Turkey is never named, and those strikes are always under investigation until the headlines disappear,” Caggins said. “In order for the U.S. to maintain credibility on the world stage, we must name names.”

The contradictions between U.S. support for both Turkey and the SDF will need to be resolved through diplomatic negotiation before matters escalate out of control, said Jonathan Lord, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

“I think we've reached a breaking point where something has to give,” Lord said. “The administration needs to make this a top priority before our NATO ally ends up killing a U.S. soldier.”
 

Avanti

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In Iraq, Süleymaniye it is reported that 3 terrorists got hit by Turkish drones as well

Herkese hayırlı iftarlar 👍
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TheInsider

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TSK is gearing up for a big tunnel network operation. It is expected to take months. The target is the 4 big tunnel networks of PKK.

FvhobjrXsAEKlGW
 

YeşilVatan

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Always wondered why we don't just seal the exits and let them suffocate to death
Doesn't work because of numerous undetected exits, sometimes kilometers away. At least that's what I think the reason is. AFAIK they use those smaller hidden exits as a way of infiltration. Hard to keep watch 360 degrees 7/24 everywhere, no fixed frontline. Our army truly deserves praise for handling such unforgiving consequences.
 

Heartbang

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I doubt Israel gives too much of a fuck as they're one of the major beneficiaries of the PKK existing.
Turkiye fighting Iran would be beneficial for Israel.
Two nations who can credibly counter Israel fighting and knocking each other down a peg. Imagine that.

They'd do some serious goading, that's for sure.
 

Saithan

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Best to liquidate and follow up on family ties and such to identify them.

I always thought it's necessary to have terrorists tagged as person non grata and their relatives. Keep them away completly.
 

TheInsider

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Biden admin. preparing to deliver Patriot batteries to KRG in Iraq.

Everything has a time and place. Next KRG will be given an airforce. Eventually, YPG will get Patriot and air assets either UAVs or fighters. Of course, the US expert will use those systems and later monitor their use.
 

Heartbang

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Everything has a time and place. Next KRG will be given an airforce. Eventually, YPG will get Patriot and air assets either UAVs or fighters. Of course, the US expert will use those systems and later monitor their use.
This has gone on for far too long. Gotta decisively crush these vermin ASAP!
 

No Name

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Isn't Turkey sort of allied with the KRG in Iraq unofficially, even though the regional government needs to maintain its distance from Turkey?

I believe that the KRG will not use it against Turkey as they are too economically dependent on the Turkish economy plus if they were going to go against Turkey's military they would have done it by now.

this goes over the major problems that the KRG government is facing moving forward. The same problems outlined in the KRG exist in the Kurdish Syria area except replace the internal fighting with droughts.

That said it is concerning that the House draft NDAA calls for the extension of financial assistance to vetted Syrian groups, according to the middle east eye but doesn't clarify anything.
 

Heartbang

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Isn't Turkey sort of allied with the KRG in Iraq unofficially, even though the regional government needs to maintain its distance from Turkey?

I believe that the KRG will not use it against Turkey as they are too economically dependent on the Turkish economy plus if they were going to go against Turkey's military they would have done it by now.

this goes over the major problems that the KRG government is facing moving forward. The same problems outlined in the KRG exist in the Kurdish Syria area except replace the internal fighting with droughts.

That said it is concerning that the House draft NDAA calls for the extension of financial assistance to vetted Syrian groups, according to the middle east eye but doesn't clarify anything.
Well yea, but they're already hanging by a thin thread due to the continued pressure from US-backed YPG-PKK and their lackey Bafel Talabani. Those equipment can easily fall into their hands.
 

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