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US Official: Dozens of Assad-Aligned Troops Killed in Thwarted Attack

by Reuters

   WASHINGTON --

   More than 100 fighters aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
   were killed after U.S.-led coalition and coalition-backed local forces
   thwarted a large, apparently coordinated attack late Wednesday and
   early Thursday, a U.S. official said.

   The heavy death toll underscored the large size of the attack, which
   the U.S. official said included about 500 opposing forces, backed by
   artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars. The
   official spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

   No American troops were killed or wounded in the incident, officials
   said.

   Still, some U.S. troops had been embedded at the time with Syrian
   Democratic Forces (SDF), whose headquarters in Syria's Deir el-Zour
   province had been a target of the attack.

   One SDF fighter was wounded in the incident, the official said.

   "We suspect Syrian pro-regime forces were attempting to seize terrain
   SDF had liberated from Daesh in September 2017," the official said. The
   forces were "likely seeking to seize oilfields in Khusham that had been
   a major source of revenue for Daesh from 2014 to 2017."

   Neither U.S. officials nor the U.S.-backed coalition have offered
   details on the attacking forces. The Syrian army is supported by
   Iranian-backed militias and Russian forces.

   The U.S.-led coalition had alerted Russian officials about the presence
   of SDF forces in the area far in advance of the thwarted attack, the
   U.S. official said.

   "Coalition officials were in regular communication with Russian
   counterparts before, during and after the thwarted (enemy) attack," the
   official said.