Turkey’s publication of U.S. troop locations poses risk, Pentagon says

The publication by Turkey’s state-run news agency of the locations of what appeared to be U.S. military posts in Syria puts American forces in danger, and the United States has complained to Turkey, a NATO ally, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Anadolu news agency published a report on Tuesday naming the location of 10 U.S. military posts in northern Syria, in some cases detailing the number of U.S and French troops present.

“The release of sensitive military information exposes Coalition forces to unnecessary risk and has the potential to disrupt ongoing operations to defeat ISIS,” said Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon, using an acronym for Islamic State.

“While we cannot independently verify the sources that contributed to this story, we would be very concerned if officials from a NATO ally would purposefully endanger our forces by releasing sensitive information,” Pahon said.

He added that the United States has voiced its concerns to Turkey.

Relations between Ankara and Washington have already been shaken by a U.S. decision to support and arm Kurdish YPG fighters to drive Islamic State from their Raqqa stronghold in Syria.

Read the whole story from Reuters.

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