Turkish strikes harming counter-IS operations, US, Kurds say

By ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. and Kurdish military officials say Turkish airstrikes and a threatened ground invasion in northern Syria are impacting their joint operations against the Islamic State extremist group. Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria, tells reporters that the group’s joint counter-IS operations alongside the U.S.-led international coalition have been “temporarily paused” because of the recent Turkish airstrikes, and that gains made in the fight against the extremist group to date may be “threatened.” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Gen. Patrick Ryder says the U.S. has cut back on the number of “partnered patrols” it is carrying out alongside the SDF.