Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US-backed Alliance Says Russian Jets Struck Its Fighters in East Syria

by Reuters

   BEIRUT --

   U.S.-backed Syrian militias said Russian warplanes struck their
   positions in Deir el-Zour province on Monday near a natural gas field
   they seized from Islamic State last week, but Russia denied it.

   The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurdish and Arab
   militias fighting with a U.S.-led coalition said the attack killed one
   of its fighters and injured two others.

   Russia's RIA news agency cited Major-General Igor Konashenkov as
   issuing the denial and saying Russia was always careful to ensure its
   airstrikes were accurate.

   A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, Colonel Ryan Dillon, said
   rounds had hit in the area around the SDF but he could not confirm they
   were fired by Russia.

   Russia and the United States back separate offensives against Islamic
   State in eastern Syria, with both advancing in oil-rich Deir el-Zour
   bordering Iraq.

   The assaults are converging on Islamic State from opposite sides of the
   Euphrates river that bisects Deir el-Zour, the jihadists' last major
   foothold in Syria.

   With Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, Syrian troops closed
   in from the west.

   A Kurdish commander of the SDF, which has advanced from the east with
   U.S. jets and special forces, told Reuters on Monday the alliance
   expected to completely push Islamic State out of its former Syrian
   headquarters of Raqqa in less than a month.

   The SDF also captured the large gas field on the Euphrates' bank on
   Saturday.

   "Russian and regime forces have mounted a treacherous attack against
   our forces [there] ...with artillery and aircraft," the SDF said in a
   statement.

   "We will not stand by with our arms crossed and we will use our
   legitimate right to self-defense."

   The Russian- and U.S.-led forces battling Islamic State in Syria have
   mostly stayed out of each other's way, with the river often acting as a
   dividing line. But the proximity of their offensives has at times
   raised the prospect of clashes that could stoke tensions between the
   competing world powers.

   Last week, the Pentagon accused Moscow of bombing SDF positions on the
   eastern side of the river. Russia denied this, warning the United
   States it would target the SDF if its own forces came under fire.

   Dillon, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said it was communicating
   with Russia to ensure measures to avoid unintended conflict between the
   offensives were being followed.