Jets strike US-backed forces in eastern Syria — SDF

BEIRUT — US-backed militias said they came under attack on Saturday from Russian jets and Syrian government forces in Deir Ezzor province, a flashpoint in an increasingly complex battlefield.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting with the US-led military coalition, said the strikes wounded six of its fighters.

Washington and Moscow are backing separate offensives in the Syrian conflict — with both sides advancing against the Daesh extremist group in the eastern region that borders Iraq.

"Our forces east of the Euphrates were hit with an attack from the Russian aircraft and Syrian regime forces, targeting our units in the industrial zone," the SDF said in a statement. 

The SDF accused Damascus of trying to obstruct its battle against Daesh. Such attacks “waste energies that should be used against terrorism ... and open the door to side conflicts,” it said.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government or Moscow. 

The assaults by the Russian-backed Syrian army and the US-backed SDF have at times raised fears of clashes that could stoke tensions between the competing world powers. 

The offensives have converged on Daesh from opposite sides of the Euphrates River, which bisects oil-rich Deir Ezzor, Daesh’s last major foothold in Syria.

Syrian troops with Iran-backed militias have closed in from the west since last week, while the SDF advances from the east. 

Russian and US battles against Daesh in Syria have mostly stayed out of each other’s way, with the Euphrates often acting as a dividing line. Talks have been under way to extend a formal demarcation line, officials have said.

In June, the SDF accused the Syrian army of bombing its positions in Raqqa province and the United States shot down a Syrian government warplane.

Across the river

Ahmed Abu Khawla, the commander of the SDF’s Deir Ezzor military council, said Russian or Syrian fighter jets flew in from government-held territory before dawn. 

The warplanes struck as the SDF waged “heated and bloody battles” in the industrial zone on the eastern bank, seizing factories from Daesh militants, he said. 

“We have requested explanations from the Russian government”, he told Reuters. “We have asked for explanations from the coalition ... and necessary action to stop these jets.

The strikes came a day after Khawla said his fighters would not let Syrian government forces cross the Euphrates.

On Friday, he warned the army and its allies against firing at SDF positions across the river — which he said they had done in recent days. The Russian foreign ministry said units of the Syrian army had already crossed. 

A senior aide to President Bashar Al Assad said the government would fight any force, including the US-backed militias, to recapture the entire country.

“I’m not saying this will happen tomorrow ... but this is the strategic intent,” Bouthaina Shaaban said in a TV interview.

The US-led coalition said last week that the SDF did not plan to enter Deir Ezzor city, where Syrian troops recently broke a Daesh siege that had lasted three years.

A pro-Damascus military alliance launched attacks on Saturday from the southern corner of Deir Ezzor province to drive Daesh from the Iraqi border.

Daesh is also coming under attack by US-backed Iraqi government forces just over the border from Syria’s Deir Ezzor inside Iraq.

Daesh declaration in 2014 of a self-styled “caliphate” spanning both countries effectively collapsed in July, when an Iraqi offensive captured Mosul, the militants’ capital in Iraq.