Syrian state media, citing a military source, said US-led coalition jets hit a Syrian army position near the battle front against an ISIS pocket late on Saturday, causing damage and injuries.
The spokesman for the US-led coalition Col. Sean Ryan said their partner forces acted in “self-defense” after coming under fire from the western side of the Euphrates River.
The unnamed Syrian military official told state news agency SANA that the coalition’s attack took place late Saturday on regime positions in Sukkariyah, west of Boukamal town. It was followed by a foiled incursion by ISIS militants, he added.
But Ryan said in an email to Reuters: “Our partner forces were fired upon and exercised their inherent right to self defense.”
The coalition is backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a collection of Syrian forces spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG.
ISIS now holds only a couple of villages in Syria, having lost almost all its territory in 2017 to two rival offensives, one by the SDF, and one by the Syrian army and allied militia backed by Russia.
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