The U.S. military on Tuesday said Russian Federation was not carrying out any actions in Syria that "cause us concern", even after Moscow said a day earlier it would treat U.S. -led coalition aircraft flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria as potential targets.
The U.S. on Sunday shot down a Syrian jet for the first time during the conflict near the city of Raqqa after it dropped bombs near the U.S. -allied Syrian Democratic Forces, which are battling IS.
"We do not seek conflict with any party in Syria other than ISIS, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves or our partners if threatened", Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis told The Washington Examiner.
Last week, another Iranian-made drone flown by pro-regime forces was shot down after it dropped munitions close to US and partner forces.
Meanwhile, the USA has moved quickly to contain an escalation of the situation, with a top general saying the country would work to relaunch a "deconfliction" hotline established in 2015.
Russian Federation made clear it was changing its military posture in response to the USA 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.
The drone shoot down comes amid heightened tensions in Syria following the shoot down on Sunday of a Syrian fighter jet that had dropped bombs on local forces backed by the U.S.in the fight against ISIS.
A Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says the United States is moving toward a military confict with Russian Federation and Iran in Syria.
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Iran described the strike as revenge for attacks on Tehran earlier this month that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50, the first such IS assault in the country. He added the rare missile strike expressed Iran's aspirations in the region.
Sharif says the missile launch reflects Iran's "military power" though Iran has no intention of starting another war. The 48-hour truce that had started there at noon Saturday was supposed to be extended. Israeli security officials said Monday they were studying the missile strike to see what they could learn about its accuracy and capabilities.
Daraa-based activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh says fighting is now underway in the city.
Daraa is where Syria's crisis first broke out in March 2011 as an uprising against President Bashar Assad's government.
Coalition forces use the area - just northeast of the Jordanian border - as a training and staging area for attacks against IS.
Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Wednesday Australian "force protection is uppermost in our minds" in deciding when to resume missions over Syria.
But the Syrian jet deployed defensive flares, causing the USA missile to miss its target.
On Monday, Russia's defense ministry effectively drew a line across Syria west of the Euphrates River, saying that "all kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs of the global coalition. will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets". Of the seven missiles fired at the ISIS-held Syrian town of Deir el-Zour, only two were reported to have reached their target.
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