A USA warplane shot down an Iran-made drone operated by pro-regime forces in southern Syria early on Tuesday, officials said, the second such incident in less than two weeks.
In just over a month, US forces have struck Iranian-backed Shia militias in southern Syria three times, and on Sunday a U.S. F/A-18 shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force Su-22 jet.
The US-led worldwide coalition later confirmed the incident in a statement, saying the armed drone was downed "after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces" that "were manning an established combat outpost to the northeast of At Tanf where they are training and advising partner ground forces in the fight against ISIS".
Moscow expects "detailed" explanations from Washington after the USA on Sunday shot down a Syrian drone bomber, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
In Tuesday´s incident, the US-led coalition said an F-15E Strike Eagle jet destroyed an armed Shahed-129 drone in the early hours of the morning as it neared the Al-Tanaf base along Syria´s eastern border.
The incident took place at about 12:30 a.m. local time northeast of the city of At-Tanf, where the US -led coalition is training and advising Syrian rebel forces, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), for the fight against ISIS.
The U.S. has been providing air and ground support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a collection of different groups that have been the U.S. government's main partners in the fight against ISIL in Syria.
On Sunday, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 warplane shot down a Syrian Air Force Su-22 that had dropped bombs near Syrian opposition forces.
Russian Federation reacted angrily to the U.S. shootdown of the Syrian jet, which the Pentagon said was dropping bombs near the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a mixed Kurdish-Arab militia fighting Islamic State.
As well as announcing that US-led coalition warplanes would be tracked, Russia's ministry of defence suspended a hotline set up to avoid clashes between USA and Russian aircraft over Syria.
Meanwhile, US General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a day earlier that Washington was working to restore a "deconfliction" line with Moscow meant to avoid mid-air collisions over Syria.
Tropical Storm Cindy threatens Gulf Coast; Bret in Caribbean
A tropical storm warning was in effect from High Island, Texas, to the Pearl River's mouth along the Louisiana-Mississippi line. Tropical systems bring a threat of strong winds, especially south of I-20, heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes to the ArkLaTex.
Both the administration of former President Barack Obama and Trump's have focused exclusively on defeating Islamic State, but with the militants' self-proclaimed caliphate shrinking, US-backed and Syrian-backed forces appear to be competing for territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry had already complained that the U.S. and its supporters were allowing ISIS fighters to escape from Raqqa; Russian airpower and cruise missiles have been very active in the past month going after ISIS convoys and encampments in the desert south of Raqqa.
The Canadian military has been flying surveillance aircraft and a refuelling plane over Syria as part of its contribution to the USA -led anti-ISIL coalition.
That incident followed two others involving United States fire against pro-regime forces on the ground as they came close to the garrison.
But while National Defence says it is monitoring the situation, it otherwise wouldn't comment Monday on where the Canadian planes have been flying in Syria and whether they are in any increased risk of danger.
Some Trump appointees saw Iran's missile strike as an illustration of Tehran's regional ambitions, which they have argued make it an existential enemy, according to the three United States officials. The communications channel has been repeatedly used to avoid air mishaps and to relay messages of concern when hostile forces approach the deconfliction zones.
Australia announced Tuesday it has temporarily suspended airstrikes by its forces in Syria.
"Due to the high rate of closure speed and poor control of the (Russian) aircraft during the intercept, this interaction was determined to be unsafe", she said.
Air operations in Iraq, where Australia has also been involved in the anti-Daesh coalition, would continue, the ministry added.
The U.S. military has repeatedly warned forces fighting on Assad's side to stay away from a "deconfliction zone", agreed with Russian Federation, near a garrison used by U.S. special forces and U.S. -backed militia around Al Tanf.
The military said Binali was killed in Mayadeen, an IS-held Syrian town near the Iraqi border.
Comments