"NATO vs NATO?": US fighter jet shoots down armed Turkish drone in Syria to avert threat, leaving netizens concerned about Turkey's response

In a shocking incident, a US fighter jet shot down an alleged armed Turkish drone near its troops in Syria on Thursday, October 5. Government agencies claimed the drone was a “political threat” as it came too close to the US military personnel. The government also claimed that the Turkish drone was flying in an “unsafe and unsynchronized manner.”

After the incident, a Turkish Defense Military official claimed the drone did not belong to the Turkish forces. On the other hand, the Pentagon spokesperson, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, claimed that Turkey has been conducting several airstrikes in Hasakah, Syria, just 1 km away from the US troops.

"We have no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces,” Ryder said.

Reuters reported that the alleged Turkish drone was shot down by an F-16 aircraft. This was the first time the US shot down a drone allegedly from Turkey, a NATO ally. Seeing the current situation, many social media users have started reacting to the controversy.

---

Social media users concerned after US F-16 jet shoots an alleged Turkish drone in Syria

The news of a US fighter jet shooting an alleged Turkish drone has created immense tension amongst people and political parties. As per CBS News, the Pentagon has called the incident “regrettable,” as both countries involved are NATO allies.

However, as the news about the US F-16 fighter jet shooting the alleged Turkish drone spread on social media, an X (formerly Twitter) user, @zerohedge, shared the news on the platform, and here is how the netizens reacted:

Several netizens wondered how Turkey would respond now (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Some questioned why there was a US jet in Syria (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Netizens reacted to the US fighter jet F-16 shooting the alleged drone from Turkey (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Some just couldn't believe the incident. (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Some even called the news of the US fighter jet F-16 shooting the alleged drone from Turkey fake (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Netizens reacted to the US fighter jet F-16 shooting the alleged drone from Turkey (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Netizens reacted to the US fighter jet F-16 shooting the alleged drone from Turkey (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Netizens reacted to the US fighter jet F-16 shooting the alleged drone from Turkey (Image via X/@zerohedge)

Netizens reacted to the US fighter jet F-16 shooting the alleged drone from Turkey (Image via X/@zerohedge)

While neither of the countries has retaliated to the netizens’ reactions to the fiasco, the US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, called the operation “fruitful.”