U.S. jets shoot down 'Iranian drone' in Syria - coalition

The Russian military involvement in Syria began in September 2015 after an official request by the Syrian government for military assistance against terrorist groups.

Both the United States and Russian Federation contend their forces are in Syria to fight ISIS. Syrian government and allied troop.

Davis said the US did not attempt to dissuade the drone from advancing through an established communications line with Russian Federation, which is allied to the Syrian government but does not have command of forces aligned with it, because "the incident emerged very quickly".

It was shot down near Tanf, an outpost of the US-led coalition.

In this undated image posted by the Raqqa Media Center, in Islamic State group-held territory, on Monday, June 30, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, fighters from the Islamic State group ride tanks during a parade in Raqqa, Syria.

The area around At-Tanf has become a flashpoint between US forces and militias, some of them backed by Iran, loyal to Assad.

Damascus and its allies have long argued that they are the essential partner to any worldwide effort in Syria, portraying all opposition forces as terrorist groups.

While the USA maintains the hotline is still operational, the coalition said it will "not allow pro-regime aircraft to threaten or approach in close proximity to Coalition and partnered forces".

Israeli security officials said Monday they were studying the missile strike to see what they could learn about its accuracy and capabilities.

Syria-based journalist Alaa Ebrahim told Russia Today, a news service which generally takes a pro-Moscow view, said that Washington might be looking to ensure the Syrian government wasn't part of any liberation of Raqqa. This could out USA and Russian forces in direct conflict. "If it does, it will be in direct conflict with Russia, Iran, Syria, and hostile Shia militias".

Nearly simultaneously, they advanced south and east of Aleppo all the way to Raqqa province, where the coalition is backing the mostly Kurdish force against IS.

Just before the shooting down of the Syrian bomber, U.S. officials say there was a movement of regime ground troops with tanks and artillery towards two towns near Raqqa that were held by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

U.S officials said the pro-Syrian troops violated a de-confliction agreement between Washington and Moscow and had "threatened" USA fighters and allied rebels.

The US on Tuesday shot down an Iranian-made drone in Syria, a day after Russian Federation warned against escalation.

It was a sharp escalation in an area that is essential in operations to secure Iraq's borders and potentially advance toward Deir el-Zour.

"The US is trying to draw boundaries in the Syrian conflict and red lines for the Syrian army not to cross them", he said.

Meanwhile the Syrian army and its allies are also closing in on Raqqa and last week the Syrian military reached areas controlled by the SDF, making clashes between the opposing alliances nearly inevitable.

It marked the second time in three days United States forces have shot down an aircraft operated by Damascus or its allies in Syria, and reflected mounting tensions over a stretch of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier where USA forces have established a base.

Moscow said it was suspending an incident hotline set up two years ago and warned that it would consider worldwide aircraft operating in central Syria "aerial targets". That Syrian aircraft had dropped bombs near the SDF south of the city of Tabqah. The crisis quickly became a civil war, which has since left at least 400,000 people dead.

Following the downing of the Syrian warplane, the Russian government vowed to treat any coalition aircraft in Syria as an enemy target.

The attack also came as emboldened Sunni Arab states — backed by U.S. President Donald Trump — are hardening their stance against Iran. It was also believed to be an Iranian-manufactured Shaheed drone.