Russian Federation said the US was defending the Islamic State group after USA -led coalition forces allegedly bombed Syrian troops near Deir al-Zor airport on Saturday, allowing ISIS fighters to briefly overrun their position.
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Russia’s Defence Ministry said that if the coalition bombing was a mistake, it was evidence of Washington’s “stubborn refusal” to co-ordinate its actions with Russia’s government.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a woman and child were killed Saturday in Talbiseh, in the central Homs province.
Syria’s army general command said in a statement that the air strike was “conclusive evidence” of USA support for Islamic State, noting that the strike was “dangerous and blatant aggression”.
U.S. Central Command said the strike was immediately halted “when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military”.
Islamic State said in a statement on its Amaq news channel that it had gained “complete control” over Jebel Tharda but both Syrian state television and Russian state media said the positions lost to the militant group were later recaptured.
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“This comes from the problems the United States is facing on the Syrian track – they still can not separate the so-called healthy parts of the opposition from the half-criminal and terrorist elements”, Putin said.
Russian Federation and the United States brokered a cease-fire in Syria that took effect on Monday and has largely held despite dozens of alleged violations.
Russian Federation on Friday said the Syrian army had initially withdrawn but returned to its positions after being fired on by rebels, who in turn say they saw no sign of government forces ever leaving their positions.
The US-led coalition has been carrying out anti-Daesh strikes since September 2014 without Syrian government consent.
The Fatah al-Sham Front, linked to al-Qaeda and previously known as the Nusra Front, is deeply embedded in rebel-held areas and fights alongside more moderate groups.
The fragile truce has largely held since it went into effect Monday, despite alleged violations on both sides. It called the incident a serious and blatant aggression, SANA reported. She also said that the United States didn’t communicate its intention to carry out operations in the area. No aid has entered since the cease-fire agreement was reached. To do that, they are supposed to set up a Joint Implementation Center.
“This might put in danger this Joint Implementation Center that the United States and the Russians are supposed to set up in the next few days to coordinate just these kinds of strikes against ISIS and to prevent just what happened”, he said Saturday.
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Russian Federation has accused Washington of failing to rein in the rebels, and on Saturday Putin asked why the United States has insisted on not releasing a written copy of the agreement.
