ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye said one of its armed drones was downed during its cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said the comprehensive security operations were launched by the Turkish Armed Forces and Intelligence Organization against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and YPG group in Iraq and Syria.
In this context, many targets belonging to the organization were destroyed on Thursday, especially in the Tal Rifaat, Jazira and Derik regions in northern Syria, the ministry said in a statement.
"During the operation, one weapon was lost due to different technical evaluations in the de-escalation mechanism operated with third parties. Necessary measures are being taken to ensure more effective operation of the conflict-free mechanism with the relevant parties," it added.
The statement noted that "the incident did not affect the execution of the ongoing operation and the hitting of the identified targets in any way."
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Defense said the U.S. military shot down an armed Turkish drone as it came in proximity to U.S. forces in Syria earlier in the day.
Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said the decision to shoot down a NATO ally's armed drone "was made out of due diligence and the inherent right of self-defense to take appropriate action to protect U.S. forces," adding "we have no indication that Türkiye was intentionally targeting the United States."
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler to discuss the incident.
The Turkish airstrikes against the YPG hit 30 targets in Tal Rifaat, Jazira and Derik regions on Thursday night, the country's Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The tensions between the Syrian Kurdish group and Turkish forces in Syria have escalated following a suicide bomb attack in the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry, in which one assailant blew himself up and another was killed in a shootout with police. Two police officers were injured in the attack.
Türkiye sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the PKK. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
