US-led coalition clashes with Syrian regime at Qamishli checkpoint

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The US-led coalition denied carrying out an airstrike against Syrian regime soldiers in Qamishli on Monday, saying troops engaged in "self-defence" after coming under fire near a regime checkpoint, according to an official statement.

According to the statement, coalition troops and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were conducting a "routine" security patrol near Tal Az-Zahab, southeast of Qamishli in Hasaka province,  when passed a pro-Syrian regime checkpoint.

"After receiving safe passage from the pro-regime forces, the patrol came under small arms fire from individuals in the vicinity of the checkpoint. Coalition troops returned fire in self-defence. The Coalition did not conduct an airstrike," the statement read.

No coalition members were injured or killed, it added.

The statement followed reports from Syrian state media of an "airstrike" by coalition helicopters, killing at least one Syrian regime soldier and wounding two others.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the strikes taking place after regime forces refused to let the US patrol pass, putting the regime soldier death toll at two. 

"Reliable SOHR sources have confirmed that regime checkpoint blocked a US military column in Tal Al-Zahab village, south of al-Qamishli airbase in Al-Hasakah countryside, which evolved to altercation between both sides," reported the SOHR Monday afternoon.

"Aircraft affiliated to the International Coalition came later and struck the checkpoint, leaving many casualties among regime soldiers stationed at the checkpoint," it added.

A video posted to Twitter on Monday afternoon purportedly shows US force fire at a Syrian army outpost.

This is the first direct military engagement between the United States and Syrian regime in recent months. 

A unit from the Syrian army confronted a US military convoy in a village associated with the town of Tal Tamr in Hasaka province in July. 

The US said it had "completely withdrawn" from northeastern Syria in late 2019, according to statements made by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.  However around 600 soldiers remain across parts of the country to protect oil fields from the Islamic State (ISIS), according to Reuters. 

The withdrawal of US troops in early October prompted international outcry as Turkish-backed forces invaded the areas held by the SDF since the defeat of ISIS.

Operation Peace Spring, greenlit by the decision of Commander-in-chief President Trump, saw Turkey launch its long-expected invasion of the region.

It aimed to cleanse the area of SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group, before resettling Arab refugees from elsewhere in Syria that have fled to Turkey since 2011.