Smoke rises from a building after a shelling hit targets near the northern Syrian village of Zor Magar, as seen from the Turkish border town of Karkamis in Gaziantep province, Turkey, on Nov. 29, 2022. (Credit: Umit Bektas/Reuters)
WASHINGTON — The United States has reduced the number of partnered patrols in northern Syria with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Pentagon said on Tuesday, after Turkish strikes in the region and ahead of a feared ground invasion by Ankara.
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that while operations against Islamic State had not stopped, the patrols had to be reduced because the SDF had reduced the number of their own patrols.
Ryder added that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would speak with his Turkish counterpart soon.