"At the direction of Secretary Mattis, the US established observation posts in the northeast Syria border region to address the security concerns of our NATO ally Turkey," the release said on Tuesday.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has earlier said Ankara expressed its concerns about US plans to establish several observation posts in Syria. Akar explained that it could lead to a perception that the United States is "somehow protecting terrorist YPG members."
"We take Turkish security concerns seriously and we are committed to coordinating our efforts with Turkey to bring stability to northeastern Syria," Manning said in the release.