Two American fighter jets approached two Syrian attack jets near the northeast part of the war-torn country Friday, and the Syrian aircraft left the area, a USA defense official said.
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US special forces were conducting operations in the area at the time of the bombings, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said in a news release.
A statement distributed to journalists by a Kurdish official said the agreement included “a ceasefire and the withdrawal of all armed forces from the city”. On Thursday, the United States “scrambled” – quickly launched – fighter jets to defend some special forces soldiers that were in the area, but did not have to engage in combat because the Syrian planes turned and left as they arrived.
But the warning appeared to fall on deaf ears.
“We made clear that coalition aircraft would defend its troops on the ground if threatened”, he said.
Karns said that no weapons were fired by coalition fighter jets.
The Pentagon confirmed that Syrian warplanes conducted strikes against “ground forces in the vicinity of Hasaka” last week. Cook said the most recent warnings to Syria not to fly in areas near USA troops were communicated through the Russian military, which is operating in support of the Syrian government in its fight against opposition forces, including the Islamic State militants.
The YPG is at the heart of a US -led campaign against the Islamic State militant group in Syria and controls swaths of the north, where Kurdish groups associated with the militia have set up their own government since the Syrian war began in 2011.
No coalition injuries were reported in Thursday’s strike.
“We did make clear that USA aircraft would defend troops on the ground if threatened”, he said.
The additional USA combat air patrols will monitor the situation and provide assistance to coalition forces if needed, but are not enforcing any kind of no-fly zone, Davis said.
Up to 300 U.S. Special Operations forces have been authorized by the White House to operate in northern Syria in support of Kurdish and Arab rebel groups fighting ISIS. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Kurdish fighters now control 90% of the city after seizing the central prison, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday. They must also be frustrated when their American allies have a perfectly good air force that is doing nothing to protect them from either Russian Federation or Syria.
After two days of negotiations mediated by Russian Federation, a Syrian military source told AFP that a deal was struck between government forces and Kurdish fighters – a claim Kurdish sources denied.
The Observatory said thousands of inhabitants had begun to flee Hasakeh, where bread was running out and electricity supplies have been cut.
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Local fighters backed by the SDF, of which the YPG militia form an integral part, said on Saturday they would not advance further north – towards the Turkish border – having secured the city of Manbij, 250 km (155 miles) west of Hasaka, from IS, an announcement that may have been aimed at assuaging Turkish fears.
