TURKISH forces have mistakenly shelled a group of US special forces troops in northern Syria, according to reports.

It comes amid an offensive launched by Turkey against Kurdish forces in the area on Wednesday.

Turkey launched so-called Operation Peace Spring after President Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops from positions on the country’s border with Syria earlier this week.

The operation is targeting areas under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The SDF is an ally of Britain and the US and has led the fight to defeat ISIS in recent years, but has been labelled a terrorist organisation by Turkey.

Reports that US special forces stationed on Mashtenour Hill in the majority-Kurdish city of Kobane fell under artillery fire from Turkish forces were confirmed by an Iraqi Kurdish intelligence official and a senior Pentagon official, Newsweek reported.

The Pentagon official also reportedly said the shelling was so heavy that the US personnel considered firing back in self-defence.

They could not specify the number of personnel present at the base, but said there were “small numbers below company level”, meaning somewhere between 15 and 100 troops.

General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which advises the president on military matters, told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday that Turkey had been told of US positions in Syria.

“The Turkish military is fully aware – down to explicit grid coordinate detail – of the locations of US forces,” Milley said.

‘THEY’RE TRYING TO DRIVE US OUT’

A Coalition official told Telegraph journalist Josie Ensor: “They know we are there, we told them our position.

“There’s no other target in the area. They’re trying to drive us out.

“If Turkey can get us to leave so they can siege Kobane, it’s all over.”

Dan Lamonthe, a reporter for the Washington Post, tweeted: “An explosion has occurred near a US position where American troops remain outside Kobane in Syria, a US official said Friday.”

But he said it was not yet clear what had caused the explosion, writing: “It is not clear whether the explosion came from indirect fire, such as artillery or rockets, the official said.

“It’s also not clear who is responsible.”

He added that an official had confirmed that no-one had been injured in the incident.

‘KURDS SHAMELESSLY ABANDONED’

The Trump administration first ordered American troops to withdraw from northern Syria, where US troops had been supporting Kurdish forces, on Sunday.

The move met with international condemnation and widespread opposition on both sides of the US Congress.

Concerns have been raised that the move not only represents a betrayal of the Kurds, who have led the ground war against ISIS, but could lead to a resurgence of ISIS, many of whose former soldiers are currently held in jails guarded by Kurdish forces.

President Trump has threatened a heavy response to the Turkish operation.

Tweeting on Thursday, he wrote: “I say hit Turkey very hard financially & with sanctions if they don’t play by the rules!

“I am watching closely.”

He had earlier suggested he would take action if Turkey’s operation is not “humane” – a red line one official said meant “ethnic cleansing… indiscriminate artillery, air and other fires directed at civilians”.

After Turkey’s offensive began on Wednesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, usually a staunch ally of the Trump administration, tweeted: “Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration.

“This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS.”

The Norwegian Refugee Council estimates that some 450,000 people live within three miles of the border, including 90,000 who have already fled Syria’s civil war at least once.