Pentagon: US troops wearing YPG patches 'inappropriate'

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) – In a stunning reversal Friday, the Pentagon said it was "unauthorized" and "inappropriate” for U.S. Special Forces to wear YPG patches on their uniforms.

“Corrective action taken, and we have communicated as much to our military partners and military allies in the region,” anti-Daesh coalition spokesman Col. Steve Warren said during a videoconference from Baghdad.

Warren’s comments comes after Turkey’s foreign minister’s expressed outrage at pictures that showed American Special Forces wearing the YPG militia's insignia and patches that the Defense Department characterized it as a common practice.

A Pentagon spokesman tried to downplay the incident Thursday saying U.S. troops wore patches to blend into the community in which they fight.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu offered a strong rebuttal. "Wearing an insignia of a terrorist organization by U.S. soldiers, who are our ally and are assertive about fighting against terrorism, is unacceptable," he said.

"Our suggestion to them is that they should also wear Daesh, al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda insignias during their operations in other regions of Syria. They can also wear the Boko Haram insignia when they go to Africa," he added.

Warren said commanders ordered troops to remove the patches.

Warren said that the American forces task is to give support to the Syrian Democratic Forces with particular focus on the Arab component of that alliance predominantly made up of Kurdish YPG forces.