Turkish and U.S. military on Thursday started conducting joint patrols in norther Syria's Manbij in line with a deal between the two countries.
According to Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the patrols started at 15.53 p.m. (1853 GMT).
As agreed by the two NATO allies in June, Turkish and U.S. forces are currently carrying out patrols in Manbij, but those are independent of each other. Conducting joint patrols is seen as a way to tamp down potential violence between the various groups in the area.
The Manbij patrols are part of a "road map" that Ankara and Washington agreed on in June to defuse tensions amid demands for the withdrawal of the U.S.-backed People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists.
The Manbij deal focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK's Syrian offshoot, the YPG terrorist organization, from the district that is located west of the Euphrates river in order to establish stability in the region. Ankara has long been voicing that it will not allow a terror corridor along its borders and asking for an acceleration in the implementation of the Manbij deal with the U.S.
