“I wish you a quick recovery. You’re a brave woman,” the ambassador told Gulistan Mohammed, in comments published by the Manbij Military Council.
He stressed the important role that journalists and the media play in “stability and security. This is very important for the United States.”
“We want to do everything possible to support security and stability here in the city.
Mohammed was one of two journalists working for local media ANHA news who were injured in Turkish fire on Friday morning.
Mohammed, 20, was shot in the face. In critical condition, she was transferred to Manbij for surgery and is now in intensive care, according to ANHA.
Ibrahim Ahmed Marto, 19, was wounded in the hand by a bullet. He was treated at Gire Spi General Hospital.
The two were covering Turkish attacks on villages and Kurdish self-defence forces in the Kobane and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) area. ANHA claimed they were “deliberately targeted” by Turkish snipers.
Two members of the self-defence forces and one civilian, a young girl named Sara Mustafa, have been reported killed by Turkish fire in northern Syrian this week.
Roebuck is in Manbij to meet with the city’s civil administration. Speaking Arabic and with a long history of diplomatic service in the Middle East – including Syria and Iraq – Roebuck has visited Manbij at least twice this year.
Turkey and the US began joint patrols in neutral zones near Manbij this week. Turkey considers the Kurdish forces in northern Syria terrorists and has threatened military operations against them in Manbij and eastward. The US has said that Turkish forces will not enter Manbij city and the joint patrols are only to “complement” local security.
