As it was to be expected, the reaction of the U.S. Department of Defense (the US DoD) to the publication on the location of the U.S. military bases in Syria was not slow in coming.

Pentagon spokesman Major Adrian Rankin-Galloway said the US Department of Defense is concerned about the disclosure of secret military bases in Syria, which was due to the publication of a map of American positions by the Turkish state news agency.

“The publication of the secret military information exposes coalition forces to unnecessary risk and may disrupt current operations to defeat ISIS. And although we cannot independently verify the sources that contributed to this publication, we would be very concerned if NATO ally officials deliberately put our forces at risk,” told the spokesman.

An expert of the Atlantic Council (Editor’s note: it is an American think tank in the field of international affairs founded in 1961 that provides a forum for international political, business, and intellectual leaders), Aaron Stein, claims the information on the location of the notorious military bases the Anadolu news agency received came from the Turkish authorities. Mr. Stein, however, did not comment on why the Turkish government decided to leak damaging info about the U.S. bases in Syria.

It should be noted that the news source stated the data on the location of the bases was obtained not as a result of a leak but in the wake of their s own investigation, as well as from publications of Kurdish fighters in social networks. The person who wrote the article for Anadolu, correspondent Levent Tok even stated that

“the U.S. leadership should have thought about the possible development of events ages ago, when Washington was only about to plan to cooperate with a terrorist organization” (Editor’s note: Kurds).

To be recalled is that the map with the pointed ten U.S. bases in the Syrian provinces of Al-Hasakah, Manbij and Raqqa, as well as in the areas of Harab-Isk and Rmeilan, was published on Tuesday by Turkey-controlled leading media, Anadolu Agency. The source also reported on the number of the U.S. servicemen deployed at these bases.

Thus, the true source of data on American bases in Syria remains unclear. It is also unknown what purpose the source of leak pursued when sharing the materials.

Who declassified the data on the location of the U.S. military bases in Syria? What was the purpose? A special investigation report at Inside Syria Media Center is to appear soon.

Follow the latest developments by reading Inside Syria Media Center.

Sophie Mangal is a special investigative correspondent and co-editor at Inside Syria Media Center.

Featured image from the author