A coalition air strike accidentally killed 18 members of a US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance fighting the Islamic State group near a key town in northern Syria, the US-led coalition said Thursday.
The coalition aircraft were given wrong coordinates by partner forces, predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF], the United States central command said.
'The target location was actually a forward Syrian Democratic Forces fighting position'.
Central Command said the strike was launched on Tuesday. Last month, US helicopters inserted USA advisers, Syrian Arab and Kurdish forces to help clear the area of ISIS fighters.
It is the fourth confirmed time the US -led coalition has mistakenly targeted non-adversary forces during the fight against ISIS.
It was not immediately clear if a USA plane was involved in the "friendly fire" strike, which happened south of Tabqa in northern Syria on Tuesday.
In a separate development, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town earlier this month that was widely blamed on his forces was a "fabrication". USA forces are also actively cooperating with the SDF on the ground.
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Clark County Fire Department confirmed the fire was eventually extinguished after crews had difficulties accessing the source. He said the location of the blaze made it hard for the 10 fire engines and 77 fire personnel to access.
In its own statement, the SDF described the incident as a "painful accident" resulting from a "mistake". Tabqa is roughly 30 miles west of Raqqa.
The US blamed the Syrian government for launching the attack, but Russian Federation claimed that the victims were killed by toxic agents released from a rebel chemical arsenal hit by Syrian planes. The coalition said those strikes "engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed two fighting positions, two vehicles and a heavy weapons system".
'The Coalition's deepest condolences go out to the members of the SDF and their families, ' it added. "As they've cleared, they've repelled a significant number of ISIS attacks as the enemy struggles to slow their advance".
The defense ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that Russian drones had been sent to check the area.
More than six months into the war, the USA -led coalition in Syria and Iraq has increasingly entered into densely populated areas with a higher risk for unintended casualties.
The assault using standoff weapons against a Syrian military facility, the first direct U.S. attack on a Syrian government target since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, appeared to be a momentary deviation from the campaign the United States and its Syrian allies are waging to defeat the Islamic State.
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