US accuses Russia of 'harassing' drones in Syria, releases video

The United States has accused Russian fighter jets of flying dangerously close to several of its drones over Syria, setting off flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive action. US Air Forces Central released a video of Wednesday's encounter, showing a Russian SU-35 fighter closing in on the drone. Footage showed the Russian pilot positioning his aircraft in front of the Reaper and turning on the afterburner, dramatically increasing speed and air pressure and making it harder to operate the drone, the air force said in comments accompanying the video. So-called parachute flares were also released. "The Russian SU-35 fighter aircraft employed parachute flares in the flight path of US MQ-9 aircraft," the air force said.