Pentagon: US soldiers wearing YPG patches ‘common practice’

AFP photo of US special forces fighting ISIS alongside the Kurdish YPG and other SDF members.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least one of the US special forces soldiers advising the Kurdish-led Syrian alliance fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) was photographed wearing the insignia of the Kurdish Protection Units (YPG), which the Pentagon says is common practice under such circumstances.

“Special operations forces, when they operate in certain areas, do what they can to, if you will, blend in with the community to enhance their own protection, their own security,” explained Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook on Thursday.

The photos, taken by an AFP photographer on the scene, showed the Americans along with the YPG fighters in a pickup truck near the village of Fatisah, some 30 miles north of Raqqa.

The US has at least 300 Special Forces advisers in Syria’s Kurdish-majority northeast where they have been advising the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – a coalition of Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen forces.

The YPG is the dominant force within the group.

The SDF is the most effective group the US has been able to work with against ISIS in Syria to date. Just this week they launched an offensive against ISIS forces in Raqqa province.

Cook sought to emphasize that the Americans are not in Syria in a combat role.

“They are on an advise-and-assist mission with forces that are carrying out the fight against [ISIS]; trying to lend their support to them; use their skill set and their capabilities to enhance the effectiveness of these forces,” he explained. "They are not at the front line.”

This latest report is reminiscent of reports in the Canadian press earlier this month when Canadian Special Forces in the Kurdistan Region were spotted with Kurdish flag patches on their uniforms.

Daniel Le Bouthillier, Canadian National Defense spokesman, said the patches were simply there in order “to enhance cohesion with partner forces and to ensure easy visual identification, which contributes to force protection.”

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