A contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out the day before the first attack on June 16, on a garrison about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from the Jordanian border at At-Tanf, the report said.
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The U.S. subsequently informed the Russian air force command in Syria that the base was used by the U.S.in the fight against the Islamic State and shouldn’t be attacked. The American officers told the Russians that the garrison was part of the USA campaign against Islamic State and shouldn’t be attacked. Ninety minutes later, Russian Federation dropped another cluster bomb on the base and the pilots of the aircraft did not respond to any US stress calls. The U.S. has agreed to bomb Al Nursa, thus helping Russian Federation.
The Russian pilots didn’t respond.
The Russians weren’t bombarding a run-of-the-mill rebel outpost, according to US officials.
Russian officials then told the Americans that the Jordanians had approved the strikes in advance, but this was denied by Amman. The Americans rejected that possibility because the garrison’s unique structure and other characteristics should have identified it as American on satellite imagery.
According to Interfax’s source in Moscow, the strike took place because the USA refused to provide Russian Federation with information on their activities regarding the areas where moderate Syrian opposition were active and observing a cease-fire.
According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. military and intelligence officials say the Russian strike on the CIA-linked site was part of a campaign by Russia to pressure the White House to agree to closer cooperation in the Syrian skies. The U.S. officials rejected the notion, citing the “unique way the base was fortified” as proof it was a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation run outpost.
Tllass Salameh, a commander with the Lions of the East rebel group which works out of the base, said 200 people were living at the “families’ camp”.
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USA officials and rebel commanders told the Journal that the outpost was hit with cluster munitions.
