In response, Russia's defence ministry said it would suspend coordination with the United States over deconfliction zones and begin tracking coalition jets operating in Assad-held areas west of the Euphrates river.
Tensions escalated on Sunday as the USA military brought down a Syrian military jet near Raqqa for bombing near us -allied forces on the ground, the first time Washington had carried out such an action in the multi-pronged civil war.
That includes both manned and unmanned aircraft used by the anti-Assad coalition, including American jets, raising the fear that US forces could be shot down by Russian systems.
The SU-22 fighter bomber was engaged by an F/A-18E Super Hornet after it had dropped bombs near the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the Pentagon said.
Moscow condemned the downing of the Syrian jet after it dropped bombs near the USA -backed Syrian Democratic Forces that are fighting the Islamic State group in Syria's increasingly complicated civil war.
Asked about the legal justification for the U.S.to shoot down a Syrian government jet, Dunford said the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) covers American forces, because they are targeting ISIS on the ground in Syria.
Russia, Iran and the USA are drawing new red lines for each other in Syria, with Russia warning it would treat any US-led coalition planes in its area of operations as potential targets following yesterday's incident. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world.
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The Syrian army has made recent advances in the area, pushing southeast from Aleppo and gaining ground west of the Euphrates.
"The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend coalition or partner forces from any threat", the Pentagon said.
Moscow has condemned the USA downing of the Syrian government fighter jet after it dropped bombs nears US partner forces.
Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov called it a "continuation of America's line to disregard the norms of worldwide law", adding: "What is this if not an act of aggression?"
The command of the Syrian army stated that the downed Su-22 was involved in anti-Daesh operations and accused the coalition of coordinating strikes with the terrorists.
According to the BBC, the Russian government, which backs the Assad regime, was angered by what it calls a "flagrant attack" that will have "dangerous repercussions", despite the us claiming it used the proper communication channels to warn the Syrian aircraft.
Felgenhauer added that this happened various times before the latest incident when U.S. planes came close to Russian bases in Syria. The bombing was part of an attack by fighters allied with Bashar al-Assad's regime, which maintains friendly relations with Russian Federation, and was meant to strike the USA -backed SDF forces' stronghold in Ja'Din.
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