On Friday, two U.S. F-22 Raptors responded to two Syrian Su-24 Fencers that approached the city of Hassakeh, where USA forces have been on the ground training Syrian Kurdish and Arab forces fighting the Islamic State group.
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Syrian warplanes struck the Kurdish militias, which prompted the US-led coalition to scramble its own jets in order to cover American ground forces.
US-led coalition jets prevented in the past few days Syrian regime jets from striking Kurdish positions.
Despite Kurdish advances, many Kurdish residents are unable to leave their homes due to the ongoing government artillery bombing from the ground.
Syrian Kurdish civilians board a truck as they flee reported shelling in the northeastern governorate of Hasakah, toward the city of Qameshli, on August 18.
After hours of calm late Sunday, clashes broke out after midnight in the southern district of Ghweiran and around the buildings of Al-Masaken, which the Kurds later captured, said the monitor. On Thursday, the USA “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.
Kurdish fighters’ gains were noticeable after government warplanes ceased bombing Kurdish positions in the city on Friday.
U.S. forces then contacted Russia, ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, which has been some areas in Syria for nearly a year, but the Russians have stressed that it was in the case Syrian planes which were conducting the attack.
Several negotiations took place to stop the fighting between the Syrian regime and the Kurds, but they did not succeed to stop the fighting until Tuesday reaching a ceasefire agreement.
“We view instances that place coalition personnel at risk with the utmost seriousness, and we do have the inherent right of self-defense when USA forces are at risk”, he added.
The Pentagon has warned Syria and Russian Federation that the USA was ready to shoot down their planes, which Washington claims threaten American advisers in northern Syria.
The bombing marked the first time Syrian regime jets have bombed areas where US forces and their Kurdish partners are operating, despite the USA issuing public warnings to Russian Federation and Syrian regime to stay away from stationed US forces. “No weapons were fired by the coalition fighters”.
Karns said the jets providing combat air patrols include F-15Es, F-16s and F-18s.
A day earlier, American fighter jets scrambled to meet Syrian jets that conducted airstrikes near the city of Hasakah where American troops are training and advising Kurdish forces that are fighting ISIS.
Regime forces and Kurdish fighters yesterday agreed to a truce in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh after a week of clashes, a Kurdish official and Syrian state media said.
United States special operations forces were based around six kilometres (nearly four miles) north of Hasakeh and reinforcements arrived Friday “from inside and outside Syria, accompanied by military helicopters”, Abdel Rahman said. The targets were linked to the former Al-Nusra Front, now Fateh Al-Sham Front, it said.
It was Moscow’s first use of cruise missiles in Syria since December.
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“We do not have [a] particular amount of victims but about 12 civilian people [were] killed and more than 33 injured”.
