American jets were scrambled Friday after two Syrian Su-24s conducted a bombing run near US special operations forces.
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The Americans made it clear that the USA would “take whatever action is necessary” to defend the special operators on the ground, Davis said.
The incident Monday in the air above Hasakah, an area held by Syrian Kurdish forces battling ISIS, appears to be the closest military encounter yet between American and Syrian government forces in the two years since US jets began flying over Syria as part of a USA -led coalition’s fight against ISIS.
The northeastern city has seen increasing ground clashes between the Kurdish YPG fighters and Syrian regime forces. By the time that USA planes arrive in the area, the Syrian aircraft had already left.
It was the closest US forces have come to an attack by Syrian forces, Davis said. “They were nearby – close enough that it gives us great pause”.
The missiles accompany the aerial campaign Russian Federation has conducted since September in support of President Bashar Assad’s military.
Elsewhere in Syria on Friday, two Russian warships operating in the Mediterranean Sea fired volleys of Kalibr cruise missiles at Nusra Front targets in Syria.
Civilians have been fleeing Hasakeh en masse since the fighting began, and the Kurdish YPG reported evacuating thousands of civilians from areas along the front-lines between the two forces, which have long held Hasakeh and jointly defended it from ISIS.
The encounter occurred as two Syrian Su-24 fighter jets dropped bombs outside of Hasakah, apparently in support of Syrian regime forces that were fighting the Syrian Kurdish forces.
The close encounter comes only a day after two Syrian warplanes attacked the Kurds, a key USA ally, forcing US special operations forces to be withdrawn from their position in northern Syria.
Last week, the Syria Democratic Forces, a coalition led by the YPG, captured the former Daesh stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria under the cover of airstrikes by the US -led coalition.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the war using a network of activists, said civilians were using lulls in the fighting to flee the city. So far, 16 people, including six women and children, have been killed on the Kurdish side.
“We are fighting mercenaries”, Haj Mansour said, in reference to pro-government gunmen fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad’s forces. “And the Syrian regime would be well advised not to do things that would place them at risk”.
In response to the strikes, US military officials contacted their Russian counterparts also operating in Syria, who offered their assurances that their planes weren’t operating in the area.
“If the USA -led coalition think for once that by allowing them into Syrian airspace they can do whatever they wish inside, they are mistaken”, said a post on a Syrian Arab Army Facebook page. While he would not specify from where the USA aircraft were launched, the United States maintains a contingent of F-15 fighter jets at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.
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Just a month prior to that, the Obama administration announced that it was sending 250 more special operators to Syria, to bolster the force of about 50 that were already on the ground. Small groups have routinely been moving in and out of the country to conduct the training and advising mission.
