Updated Oct. 5, 2023
WASHINGTON—A U.S. jet fighter shot down a Turkish drone Thursday after it was deemed a threat to U.S. forces in northeast Syria, a person familiar with the episode said.
The episode comes as Turkey has been mounting air attacks against Kurdish militants it blames for a bombing attack in Ankara on Sunday.
There are roughly 900 U.S. troops based in Syria, who have been working with Kurdish-led fighters to battle Islamic State.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said that the drone didn’t belong to the Turkish armed forces.
But one American official described it as an armed Turkish drone and said that the U.S. was aware of that before it acted.
The U.S. aircraft that downed the drone, which was armed with air-to-ground munitions, was an F-16. The action was taken as American troops were conducting operations nearby, a U.S. official said.
The shootdown is likely to add to the tensions between Turkey and the U.S., which are North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, over the American military strategy in Syria, the U.S. ejection of Turkey from the advanced F-35 jet fighter program, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ties with Moscow.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is expected to speak to Turkish officials, a U.S. official said.
Erdogan dropped his opposition in July to Sweden’s bid to join NATO after talking with President Biden. But Erdogan’s decision still must be approved by Turkey’s parliament. The Turkish president said last month, according to Turkish media, that final approval would be contingent on the U.S. sale of F-16 jet fighters.
Sweden has said it has addressed Turkey’s objections, including passing a new antiterrorism law, and is awaiting approval for membership.
While Turkish drones frequently operate in Syria, the downing came after Turkey declared that Kurdish militant facilities in Iraq and Syria were legitimate military targets.
Turkey said that operatives tied to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or the PKK, had traveled from Syria to conduct Sunday’s attack. Since then, Turkey has been conducting cross-border airstrikes and raids in northern Iraq against suspected PKK positions. On Thursday, local groups said drone attacks had also been carried out in Syria.
The U.S. has cast the attack on the drone as a measure necessary to protect American troops that was taken following multiple warnings to Turkish forces. Austin’s call, in addition to other calls by U.S. military commanders, appeared to be to attempt to lower tensions with Ankara.
Middle East analysts said that Turkey was unlikely to pull back from its drone attacks against the PKK because of the U.S. action.
“It’s a bold step by the U.S. It’s not every day that the U.S. takes down another NATO member’s drone,” said Charles Lister, director of the Syria counterterrorism programs at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. “This should only be read as an American message to Ankara to quit. But I don’t think the message will be received that way. Turkey sees the PKK as an existential threat, and they will continue to press on this issue.”
In April, Turkey carried out a drone strike in northern Iraq that came close to a convoy transporting Gen. Mazloum Abdi, a Syrian Kurdish leader who has been a partner of the U.S. in the fight against Islamic State militants.
Three U.S. military personnel were in the convoy with the leader at the time of the attack, but there were no casualties.
Ankara has long blamed Abdi and the Syrian Democratic Forces he leads for terrorist attacks in Turkey. Abdi has denied any involvement, and U.S. officials have said the general has been focused on his campaign against ISIS.
Jared Malsin in Istanbul contributed to this article.
Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com and Nancy A. Youssef at nancy.youssef@wsj.com