The drone was shot down by a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft at about 12:30 a.m.
Russian Federation made clear it was changing its military posture in response to the U.S. downing of a Syrian military jet on Sunday, which, according to Damascus, is the first such incident since the start of the conflict in 2011. Today, the coalition announced that it had shot down an armed UAV that was headed towards coalition positions near the us base at al-Tanf.
Coalition forces are using the Al-Tanaf base by Syria's borders with Jordan and Iraq to train anti-jihadist Syrian fighters and stage attacks against IS. Five times in a little over a month, US-led coalition planes have struck pro-Syrian forces that they claim were advancing on or threatening their partners' positions.
Binskin said the jet fighters had been occupied recently supporting Iraqi security forces in retaking the city of Mosul, so the suspension had little effect on their operations.
The Syrian plane destroyed on Sunday, a Su-22 fighter bomber, was hit after reportedly dropping bombs near the town of Tabqa in Raqqa province.
In response, Russian Federation said its surface-to-air missile systems in Syria would track aircraft from the US -led coalition as targets if they go west of the Euphrates River.
Last month, US-led coalition aircraft bombed a convoy of pro-Syrian government forces near Tanf.
"The de-confliction line has proven effective at mitigating strategic miscalculations and escalating tense situations, and to be clear, we prefer to keep this channel of communication open".
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"Any flying objects, including planes and drones of the worldwide coalition, discovered west of the Euphrates River will be tracked as aerial targets by Russia's air defences on and above ground", said Russia's defence ministry.
Bassam Abu Abdullah, a professor of International Relations at Damascus University, said the advances by pro-Assad troops undermined US plans in the area to sever a land corridor linking the capitals of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon.
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.
Two weeks ago on a visit to Sydney, Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, "We are united in our resolve to defeat ISIS". USA -backed forces recently pushed into Raqqa, the northern Syrian city that served as the group's de facto capital.
In Syria's tangled conflict, Washington backs a coalition of rebel forces fighting both President Bashar al-Assad and Islamist militants, while Assad is backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militia.
"Given recent events, the coalition will not allow pro-regime aircraft to threaten or approach in close proximity to coalition and partnered forces", it said.
The incident underscores the growing tensions in the region as a battle develops for the control of eastern Syria, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.
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