Foreign Ministry announces: '1 UAV has been lost'

The Pentagon had announced that the U.S. shot down an armed Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operating near its troops in Syria on Thursday. The statement noted that the UAV had come within less than half a kilometer (0.3 miles) of U.S. troops and was assessed as a threat, leading to it being shot down by F-16 aircraft.

STATEMENT FROM THE FOREIGN MINISTRY

The statement issued by the Foreign Ministry is as follows:

"Following the terrorist attack that took place on October 1, 2023, comprehensive operations have been initiated by our Armed Forces and Intelligence Organization against PKK/YPG terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria in line with our right to self-defense. In this context, numerous targets belonging to the separatist terrorist organization, primarily in the Tel Rifaat, Jazira, and Derik regions of northern Syria, were destroyed yesterday (October 5). Due to different technical assessments within the deconfliction mechanism operated with third parties during the operation, one UAV has been lost. Necessary measures are being taken to ensure the more effective operation of the deconfliction mechanism with the relevant parties. The incident in question has in no way affected the execution of the ongoing operation or the striking of identified targets. Just as it has been done in Iraq, all capabilities and revenue sources developed by the terrorist organization in Syria will continue to be systematically destroyed."