US warplanes have conducted ‘defensive’ airstrikes against Syrian pro-government forces in the east Syrian province of Deir Ezzor according to official American military sources.
According to an official statement released by the Pentagon, US-led coalition airpower has conducted several ‘defensive’ strikes against Syrian pro-government forces in the province of Deir Ezzor after they launched ‘unprovoked’ attacks against allied Arab and Kurdish paramilitaries and foreign ‘advisors’ towards a ‘well-established headquarters.’
Other (early) sources say – in more detail – that the Syrian pro-government forces made a sudden move on the eastern shore of the Euphrates River, shelling US-backed forces positions at the towns of Khasham (which is meant to be under Syrian Army control) and Jadedat Akedat as well as the surroundings of the Koniko gas field.
The same sources go on to state that in retaliation, US-led forces bombed and shelled Syrian troops at the the towns of Al-Salhiyah and Hatleh with aircraft and rocket artillery.
No losses on the part of the Syrian Army and other pro-government forces has yet been reported.
