In another escalation of Syria’s bloody conflict, warplanes from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were bombarding the city of Hasakeh – targeting Kurdish forces that for months have worked closely with coalition military advisers helping local fighters combat the Islamic State group.
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“We will ensure their safety and the Syrian regime would be well-advised not to do things that place them at risk…”
The close encounter comes only a day after two Syrian warplanes attacked the Kurds, a key U.S. ally, forcing USA special operations forces to be withdrawn from their position in northern Syria.
The Pentagon said no coalition casualties were reported in Thursday’s strikes by two Syrian SU-24s, and United States special operations advisers had been moved to a safe location.
Syrian government warplanes were in the air again yesterday over the flashpoint north-eastern city of Hasakeh, despite a U.S. warning against new strikes that might endanger its military advisers.
The Turkish premier also said Damascus understood that Kurds in northern Syria have become a threat.
Kurdish forces have expanded their control of the city despite the bombing of several locations by Syrian jets.
Another senior defense official told CNN, “If the Syrians try this again, they are at great risk of losing an aircraft”.
In March 2013, few months after two Sukhoi Su-25 attack planes operated by the Pasdaran (informal name of the IRGC – the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution) attempted to shoot down an American MQ-1 flying a routine surveillance flight in global airspace the Pentagon made a decision to escort the drones involved in ISR (intelligence surveillance reconnaissance) with fighter aircraft, including the Raptors.
Deadly clashes erupted between pro-government militia and the US-backed Kurdish forces on Wednesday.
“This was done as a measure to protect coalition forces”, Davis said.
It was the first time the coalition had confirmed deploying warplanes against the Syrian Air Force. But US personnel quickly called the Russians on a previously established channel to try to determine who was firing.
In one very well-known episode, F-22 stealth jets providing HVAAE (High Value Air Asset Escort) to a US Predator flew under the Iranian F-4E Phantoms that had intercepted the drone then pulled up on their left wing and then called them and radioed a famous “you really ought to go home” that allegedly scared the Iranian pilots off saving the drone.
The Syrian army deployed warplanes against the main armed Kurdish group for the first time during the war last week, prompting a US -led coalition to scramble aircraft to protect American special operations ground forces.
The Russians started mediation efforts to defuse the tension and the battles that have raged between the Kurdish police forces, Assayish, and the Syrian National Defence Forces (NDF), a paramilitary force backing the army. But Davis said that there had been “tensions” between Kurds and Syrian-controlled enclaves in the area in the days before the bombardment.
Davis warned the Syrian regime about taking similar action in the future.
The Pentagon has now increased air patrols in the region and plans to continue that, he said.
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“They would be well advised not to interfere with coalition forces or our partners”, he said.
