ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – One member of the Syrian regime forces was killed and at least seven other injured in clashes with coalition forces near Palmyra on Thursday evening.
Coalition planes targeted an area in Halbeh, about 50 kilometres from Palmyra, near the at-Tanf military base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, saying that “explosions rocked the southeastern desert of Palmyra.”
A Syrian army officer was killed in the strike, a pro-regime commander confirmed to Reuters.
The Observatory said it expects the death toll will rise because of serious injuries in the strike that hit an area where a regime military vehicle was present.
The Pentagon confirmed clashes had taken place, but denied they had carried out an airstrike.
Fighters from Maghawir al-Thawra, a US-backed rebel group, and coalition advisors "within the de-confliction zone near at-Tanf were engaged by an unidentified hostile force located just outside the de-confliction zone," Pentagon spokesperson Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway told AFP.
They "returned fire in self-defence, at which time the hostile force disengaged," he added.
He also denied there were any casualties.
Coalition forces train the rebel militia in the at-Tanf military base and have agreed a 55-kilometre deconfliction zone with Russia.
The incident comes just a few days after 55 forces loyal to the regime – including 22 Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi fighters – were killed in an airstrike in eastern Deir ez-Zor. Damascus initially blamed the US. The coalition has denied they conducted an airstrike in the area at that time. Israel has also been implicated.
Coalition planes targeted an area in Halbeh, about 50 kilometres from Palmyra, near the at-Tanf military base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, saying that “explosions rocked the southeastern desert of Palmyra.”
A Syrian army officer was killed in the strike, a pro-regime commander confirmed to Reuters.
The Observatory said it expects the death toll will rise because of serious injuries in the strike that hit an area where a regime military vehicle was present.
The Pentagon confirmed clashes had taken place, but denied they had carried out an airstrike.
Fighters from Maghawir al-Thawra, a US-backed rebel group, and coalition advisors "within the de-confliction zone near at-Tanf were engaged by an unidentified hostile force located just outside the de-confliction zone," Pentagon spokesperson Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway told AFP.
They "returned fire in self-defence, at which time the hostile force disengaged," he added.
He also denied there were any casualties.
Coalition forces train the rebel militia in the at-Tanf military base and have agreed a 55-kilometre deconfliction zone with Russia.
The incident comes just a few days after 55 forces loyal to the regime – including 22 Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi fighters – were killed in an airstrike in eastern Deir ez-Zor. Damascus initially blamed the US. The coalition has denied they conducted an airstrike in the area at that time. Israel has also been implicated.
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