Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is prepared to take over security in Syria’s northern town of Manbij where a deadly bomb attack killed several American soldiers last Wednesday.
Erdogan made the remarks in a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, according to a statement by the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan told Trump that the attack was a "provocation" aimed at affecting his last month's decision to pull US troops out of Syria, the statement said.
Since the withdrawal announcement, Manbij has been a major bone of contention between Ankara and Washington over the fate of US-backed YPG fighters in the war-torn country.
Last month, the Syrian army entered the city, marking the return of territories held by YPG militants to the government fold for the first time in years.
The city had been held by YPG militia, which Turkey regards an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkey had been sending so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants to Manbij in recent years, reportedly in preparation for an offensive to drive YPG fighters out of the city.
Since the withdrawal announcement, Manbij has been a major bone of contention between Ankara and Washington over the fate of US-backed YPG fighters in the war-torn country.
Last month, the Syrian army entered the city, marking the return of territories held by YPG militants to the government fold for the first time in years.
The city had been held by YPG militia, which Turkey regards an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkey had been sending so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants to Manbij in recent years, reportedly in preparation for an offensive to drive YPG fighters out of the city.
The announcement was followed by the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis and Brett McGurk, the US special envoy to the so-called anti-Daesh coalition in Syria and Iraq.
In his first television interview since resigning, McGurk said that "ISIS (Daesh) is not defeated," and that the US had no plan for Syria.
"There's no plan for what's coming next," he said in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
"Right now we do not have a plan. It increases a vulnerability of our force... It is increasing the risk to our people on the ground in Syria and will open up space for ISIS."
This article has been adapted from its original source.
