Kurdish forces in Syria accidentally shot down US Reaper drone

Kurdish-led forces in Syria , allied with the United States, shot down an Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone on Monday after mistakenly identifying it as a threat.

Troops from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a key ally for the United States in its fight against the Islamic State, were conducting operations in the region when they downed the MQ-9, a U.S. official familiar with the situation confirmed to Defense News.

The MQ-9 was operating over Syria to support the campaign against the remnants of the Islamic State, known as Operation Inherent Resolve.

U.S. forces recovered the parts of the drone that needed to be salvaged and destroyed the rest, the official said.

“U.S. Air Forces Central [Command] is actively assessing the actions that led to the incident and will adjust tactics, techniques and procedures to safeguard U.S., coalition, and partner forces and their associated assets,” the official said.

The SDF’s position in Syria has grown precarious in the days since the ouster of President Bashar Assad. Turkey, which borders Syria to the north, has accused the SDF of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which Turkey views as a terrorist group.

The Telegraph reported the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army began advancing toward the Syrian Kurdish-controlled city of Manbij earlier this week, before the U.S. helped broker a ceasefire between the SNA and SDF .

U.S. forces, including B-52 Stratofortress bombers, A-10 Warthog attack planes and F-15 fighters, pounded 75 ISIS targets in dozens of strikes shortly after the rapid fall of the Assad regime.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

周一，叙利亚库尔德武装（与美国结盟）击落了一架美国空军的MQ-9“死神”无人机，原因是该无人机被错误地识别为威胁。

一位熟悉情况的美国官员向《防务新闻》证实，叙利亚民主力量（美国在打击伊斯兰国方面的重要盟友）的部队在该地区执行任务时击落了这架MQ-9无人机。

MQ-9无人机在叙利亚上空执行任务，以支援打击伊斯兰国残余势力的行动，即“坚定决心行动”。

这位官员表示，美军回收了无人机上需要打捞的部件，并销毁了其余部分。

“美国空军中央司令部正在积极评估导致此次事件的行动，并将调整战术、技术和程序，以保护美国、联军和伙伴部队及其相关资产的安全，”该官员表示。

自叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德被推翻以来，叙利亚民主力量（SDF）在叙利亚的处境日益岌岌可危。与叙利亚北部接壤的土耳其指责SDF与库尔德工人党（PKK）有联系，而土耳其将PKK视为恐怖组织。

《每日电讯报》报道称，在本周早些时候，土耳其支持的叙利亚国民军开始向叙利亚库尔德人控制的城市曼比季推进，之后美国帮助促成了叙利亚国民军和叙利亚民主力量之间的停火。

在阿萨德政权迅速垮台后不久，美军出动了包括 B-52 同温层堡垒轰炸机、A-10 疣猪攻击机和 F-15 战斗机在内的多架飞机，对 75 个 ISIS 目标进行了数十次空袭。

斯蒂芬·洛西是《防务新闻》的空战记者。他此前曾在《空军时报》报道领导层和人事问题，并在Military.com网站报道五角大楼、特种作战和空战。他曾前往中东报道美国空军的行动。