US confirms sharing intel with Syrian Kurds against ISIL

WASHINGTON

U.S. Department of State Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf. DHA photo

Washington has confirmed that it has been sharing intelligence and information with the Syrian Kurdish fighters against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

"We do get intelligence from, get information from a wide range of people – obviously, look for it anywhere we can get it. So yes, there is some intelligence and information sharing going on. That’s not something you replicate everywhere, of course, but in this case that is correct," U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said during a daily press briefing on Oct. 17.

U.S.-led warplanes has been pummelling the ISIL around the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane, where the international coalition sees some "encouraging" signs in the fight against the militants. The ISIL has increased its attacks on the area near the crossing gate at the Turkish-Syrian border, prompting the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), to take position within the city limits. 

Harf's statement came after a question over the recent claim by the PYD, which suggested that Kurdish fighters are sharing information with the coalition and they are coordinating strikes. A senior U.S. State Department official had held direct talks with the PYD for the first time last weekend.

"Again, conversations don’t equal coordination. We talk to a wide range of officials, of actors, of people involved here across the board – a large swath of Syrian society – but does not mean we’re always coordinating," Harf said Oct. 17.