“Coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit”, the USA military statement said.
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The strikes came as Moscow said tension was rising in and near what was Syria’s most populous pre-war city, as militants were preparing for large-scale military actions against the Syrian army. Churkin said Russian Federation had no “specific evidence” of the United States colluding with Islamic State militants.
Moscow and Washington have been trading blame over a fragile Syrian cease-fire that has been violated on numerous occasions since it began last Monday. Lavrov noted the “refusal by an array of illegal armed groups to join the cease-fire”, and Washington’s obligation to “separate units of the moderate opposition from terrorist groupings”, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
A Syrian political adviser told the BBC the United States strike could not be a mistake. Russian Federation is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and conducted numerous airstrikes over the previous year on his behalf.
“It may well be, and this is just a conjecture, that the United States is trying to hide a fact that they are actually not in control of the situation, that they allow the situation to get out of control”, Churkin said. He urged insurgents to halt what he called the bloodshed and destruction and affirmed that all who turned themselves in and surrendered their weapons would be treated well and allowed to return to normal life.
The plane’s downing comes hours after Russian military personnel accused the USA of trying to strengthen the IS position in the fiercely contested city following Saturday’s (17 September) bombing.
“We demand explanations from Washington – whether this is a deliberate policy to support IS or a mistake”, Zakharova said, referring to Islamic State.
The Central Command, which is responsible for US military activities throughout the Middle East, said Syria is a complex environment with various military forces and militias in close proximity.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia and Syrian rebels cast doubt on the prospects for the increasingly shaky ceasefire, with Moscow saying that the situation was worsening and a senior rebel warning that the truce would “not hold out”.
Kerry told CNN on Sunday that Assad is a “spoiler” in the process, and called on Russian Federation to “stop the grandstanding, stop the showboating, and get the humanitarian assistance going”.
“This might put in danger this Joint Implementation Center that the U.S. 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.
ISIL claims to have shot down a Syrian military jet in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor.
Syria called Saturday’s USA -led strikes on the outskirts of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour a “dangerous and blatant aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic and its army”.
Australia also participated in the strikes and the Australian Department of Defence offered its condolences to the families of Syrian soldiers killed or wounded in the incident.
Defense Minister Marise Payne told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday that Australia is taking part in a US review of the airstrikes against what was believed to be an Islamic State fighting position. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the airstrike near Deir el-Zour airport was conducted by two F-16s and two A-10s. He said Australian rules of engagement were to target the Islamic State movement. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attack saying they killed 62 servicemen and injured 100 more.
Central Command said the intended target had been Isis (Islamic State) forces in the area.
Moscow called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday night to discuss the attack on Syrian military positions in eastern Deir Ezzour province.
The Syrian military called the strike a “serious and blatant attack on Syria and its military” and “firm proof of the U.S. support of Daesh and other terrorist groups”, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
The Syrian ceasefire was in danger of collapse last night after the U.S. admitted “unintentionally” killing about 80 government troops in air strikes.
The Observatory said the plane came down in the Jebel Tharda area which overlooks the government’s Deir al Zor military airport.
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The recapture of Jabal Therdeh area marks a great achievement for the Syrian army as it prevents Daesh terrorist from targeting military aircraft trying to take off or land at the airbase.
