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 striking syrian government troop


Syria and Russia accuse U.S.-led coalition of striking Syrian government troops

Los Angeles Times

Russia and Syria on Saturday accused U.S.-led forces of launching an airstrike that killed 62 Syrian soldiers and wounded more than 100 at an air base in eastern Syria. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement that American warplanes carried out a strike south of Dair Alzour but it could not confirm that they hit Syrian forces. "Coalition forces believed they were striking a Daesh fighting position that they had been tracking for a significant amount of time before the strike," the statement said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "The coalition airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military." There have been fears that the U.S. military could accidentally strike Syrian or Russian forces since the air campaign against Islamic State began more than two years ago.