US CENTCOM commander Erik Kurilla pays visit to northeastern Syria

ANKARA

Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla last Thursday paid a visit to northeastern Syria.

In a written statement, CENTCOM said Saturday: "General Michael ‘Erik’ Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, traveled to northeast Syria to speak with American troops and visit sites critical to the ongoing effort to ensure thee during defeat of ISIS."

This was his sixth visit to Syria in the past 11 months, according to the statement.

The statement said that Kurilla also "visited the SDF, the U.S. partner force" and it claimed that the PKK terror group’s Syria extension SDF "conducts daily missions against ISIS."

The US has partnered with the YPG-led SDF in its efforts to counter Daesh/ISIS in northeastern Syria, drawing Ankara's anger in a major strain on bilateral relations.

Kurilla, according to the written statement, paid a visit to "a detention facility for ISIS fighters in Hasakah" - the region currently occupied by the YPG/PKK terror group - adding that Raj and Hol Camps where families of Daesh/ISIS terrorists are being held.

Recently, on March 4, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley visited the regions occupied by the YPG/PKK terror group in northeastern Syria.

Over Miller’s visit, Türkiye demanded an explanation for his visit to regions occupied by the YPG/PKK terror group in northeastern Syria.

US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake had been summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry over the visit.