United States shoots down 'pro-Syrian' drone made by Iran

Adjust Comment Print

The incident comes less than 24 hours after the Kremlin chastised Washington after an American fighter shot down a Syrian jet targeting USA -backed troops.

Russia, a key ally of the Syrian regime, accused the US-led coalition of "complicity with terrorism" after the drone was downed in southern Syria.

Murphy's remarks came two days after a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian warplane for the first time, prompting Russian Federation to issue a threat against American airborne assets over Syrian airspace.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the incidents could be "very dangerous" and lead to an escalation of the war. Moscow has accused the USA of not using the hotline to prevent the Raqqa incident.

In response, Russian Federation announced its air defenses would track all coalition targets west of the Euphrates, and suspend the "deconfliction" hotline.

The jihadists are under major pressure in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Earlier this month, the US Air Force deployed long-range B-52 bombers and 800 airmen to the United Kingdom in support of joint exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies and partners across Europe. "You are not just fighting Bashar al-Assad", Murphy said.

It was an Iranian-made Shahed 129 and was thought to be armed and in firing range of USA troops.

The F-15E Strike Eagle went after the armed Iranian drone as it was observing and advancing on the coalition force's position.

Russian fighter comes within feet of Air Force recon plane
The Russians claim that they intercepted the reconnaissance aircraft as the plane "approached the Russian state border". The tensions are mounting today between the US and Russian Federation , which sides with the Syrian regime.

One official said that the drone was shot down because it was "assessed to be a threat". In a statement on Tuesday, the coalition reiterated it would not shy away from using force.

It's also the same location where another pro-Assad UAV dropped munitions near coalition forces before it was shot down on June 8.

That incident followed two others involving United States fire against pro-regime forces on the ground as they came close to the garrison.

That took place near the Syrian city of Taqba, which has been the focus of fighting as US -sponsored ground forces advance on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

The incident comes one day after the Russian Defense Ministry said it would treat any US jet flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria as a potential target, following a U.S.

Moscow said a USA spy plane flying toward the Russian border made a "provocative turn" toward a fighter jet, which had been scrambled for an interception mission. "That would be another mistake on the scope of the Iraq War", he said.

"It is absolutely illegal", Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Tuesday of the presence of American forces in Syria.

Syria's government is not involved in the operation and is instead looking further east to the largely IS-held oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor.

"It doesn't look like anyone now intends to deliberately escalate further, but when you've got these little skirmishes... the risk is that you can end up in an escalation by accident", said Sam Heller, a Syria expert at The Century Foundation.

Comments