US forces patrol in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh city, in the province of the same name, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on December 30, 2024. Turkey has long been rankled by United States support for the Kurdish-led SDF in northern Syria. Ankara sees the main component of the SDF, the People's Protection Units (YPG), as an extension of its outlawed domestic foe the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). But Washington has long seen the SDF -- which spearheaded the fight that defeated Islamic State group jihadists in 2019 -- as crucial to preventing a jihadist resurgence in the area. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)