Coalition working to ease tensions between Turkey, Syria Kurds

Turkish and US troops began joint patrols Thursday in the Syrian city of Manbij as the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group sought to calm renewed tensions between Ankara and a Kurdish-led Syrian alliance fighting the jihadists.

Earlier this week, Turkey once again raised threats against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), shelling its positions and warning of a new offensive to clear the militia from its border.

That sparked concern in Washington as it attempts to balance its ties with the YPG, a key force in the fight against IS, and its NATO ally Ankara.

The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the US-led coalition's main ground partner in the fight against IS in Syria.

But Ankara views the YPG as a "terrorist" group and is set on preventing it from entrenching itself along the border.

In response to Wednesday's shelling, the SDF said it had temporarily halted its offensive against an IS holdout in eastern Syria.

Read the full article and more in Yahoo News.