Illustrative image.
On March 5, Turkish forces targeted the northern Syrian village of al-Jat, which is held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with two anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).
The small village is located to the northwest of the town of Manbij in the northern countryside of Aleppo. Manbij is known to be a stronghold of the SDF.
In a statement, the SDF’s Manbij Military Council claimed that the Turkish ATGM strikes didn’t result in any casualties or material losses. The council released a photo showing the remains of one of the ATGMs, which was apparently a US-made TOW.
https://t.co/yE9FP4y64S
قام جيش الاحتلال التركي، في تمام الساعة 2:00 عصرا هذا اليوم
باستهداف قرية الجات شمال شرقي مدينة منبج، الآهلة بالسكان، من قرية قيراطة بصواريخ حرارية بلغ عددها أثنانالمركزالإعلامي #لمجلس_منبج_العسكري pic.twitter.com/HFiY2RLtLV
— المجلس العسكري لمنبج (@mmc2016c) March 5, 2022
The ATGMs were likely launched by Turkish-backed militants who have been using TOW systems supplied by the US to target the SDF, Washington’s top ally in Syria, for the last few years.
Click to see full-size image.
The SDF will likely respond to the ATGM strikes on al-Jat very soon by targeting Turkish-occupied areas to the north of Manbij.
Turkish forces and the SDF have been exchanging blows in northern and northeastern Syria for well over a month now. Despite this, a large-scale military confrontation between the two sides remains highly unlikely as of now.
US helping everybody. USAIDS.