Syria troops position themselves at heart of war on IS

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"Talks were already launched between the U.S. and Russian Federation concerning the need that Iranian-backed militias and regime forces move from the area where they lately advanced in northern al-Tanf to allow us to resume the military operation against ISIS", al-Tala also said.

Despite bouts of relative calm, the pro-Assad Iranian-backed forces have continued to encroach, at one point moving along the periphery of the deconfliction area to the Iraqi border and driving a wedge between Tanf and the Euphrates River Valley.

Washington also described those strikes as self-defence.

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.

Tuesday's statement from the worldwide coalition stressed that the global effort remained focused on ISIS but said that coalition forces had the right to self-defense.

The competition between the Syrian army and the militias and USA -backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels has stepped up in the Badia desert that stretches to the Iraqi border after Islamic State abandoned large swathes of territory as it defends Raqqa and Deir Zor.

US -led coalition forces had already set off a fresh round of controversy Sunday, shooting down a Syrian warplane that reportedly bombed nearby Syrian Democratic Forces, who are allied with the U.S.in their fight against ISIS.

The sole focus of coalition forces in Iraq and Syria remains on defeating Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terrorists in those nations, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

Like the recent US attack on a pro-Assad convoy in Southeastern Iraq, the downing of the Syrian jet should not be viewed as intervention meant to topple Assad, Rather, it should be seen as protecting assets in the fight against ISIS and, I hope, as promoting our interests in a post-ISIS Syria.

Turkey to use its authority to resolve Qatar crisis
Qatar expressed its readiness for a dialogue to solve the crisis and denied to take counter-action measures against its neighbors.

"Australia is anxious about the suspension of the de-confliction line between Russian Federation and the United States as a result of the downing of the Syrian jet", said Dr Khatib told CNN.

The Defense Department revealed on Tuesday that the six Australian F/A-18F Super Hornets based in the United Arab Emirates had been suspended from Syrian operations after Russian Federation warned the US-led coalition not to fly over Syrian army positions west of the Euphrates River.

The Shaheed-129 drone was armed and displayed hostile intent when it was intercepted by an F-15E Strike Eagle around 12:30 a.m. local time near the Syrian city of Tanf, according to U.S. Central Command.

"We believe that having a channel where we can de-escalate and understand each other's intentions serves a very good objective and we are hopeful that we can continue to use it", Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said Tuesday. He was killed in an airstrike May 31 in Mayadin, Syria. "You are not just fighting Bashar al-Assad", he noted.

Daraa is where Syria's crisis first broke out in March 2011 as an uprising against Assad's government.

Iran says it attacked IS fighters in eastern Syria with long-range missiles on Sunday.

The aim is "to ensure that they can't easily be excluded, and that they remain on track to ultimately retake the entirety of the country", Heller said.

The UAV could hit terrestrial mobile and fixed targets.

The row prompted the Australian government to announce that it would "temporarily" halt its airstrikes in Syria.

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