clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

US halts secretive drone program with Turkey 

February 5, 2020 at 1:08 pm

Turkish military drone at Gecitkale Airport on 16 December 2019 [Muhammed Enes Yıldırım/Anadolu Agency]

The United States has halted a secretive military intelligence cooperation program with Turkey that for years helped Ankara target Kurdish PKK militants, four US officials told Reuters.

America’s decision to indefinitely suspend the programme, which has not been previously reported, was made in response to Turkey’s cross-border military incursion into Syria in October, the US officials said

The US officials, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said late last year Washington stopped flying the intelligence collection missions that targeted the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which both the United States and Turkey classify as terrorists.

The US military had carried out the missions using unarmed drone aircraft, which one official said were flown out of Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base, where the US military has a significant presence. The base is also a key hub for US spy agencies operating in the region.

READ: Saudi Arabia, US to back formation of SDF-affiliated Arab forces

The U.S. drone flights that took place within the programme, in place since 2007, often zeroed in on mountainous territory in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, another official said.

“We have supported Turkey in their fight against the PKK in many ways for decades. As a matter of policy, we do not provide details on operational matters,” a Pentagon spokeswoman said, when asked about a halt in assistance.

A State Department spokesperson said the United States does not comment on intelligence matters.

Officials from the Turkish defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment, but a Turkish official confirmed the programme was stopped.

READ: US forces expand military presence in north-east Syria

“This makes the anti-PKK campaign more difficult and more costly for Turkey,” one of the four US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.

Arda Mevlutoglu, a Turkey-based defence analyst, said the change may not affect Ankara too greatly because recent advances have equipped Turkey with greater flexibility and freedom in its operational capabilities.

“Turkey’s dependence on her allies, mainly to the US, significantly decreased, if not completely ended in real-time high-quality intelligence gathering and surgical strike type operations,” Mevlutoglu said.