A draft statement by the Pentagon, seen by US journalism outlet POLITICO, says that a Russian vehicle intentionally rammed into a US military vehicle, leading to the injury of four American soldiers.
The US Central Command document says the troops were diagnosed with mild concussion-like symptoms as a result of the interaction. It is not clear when or where exactly the incident took place, but was also reported by Reuters, who cited unnamed US officials.
This is not the first time such an incident has taken place between US and Russian forces operating in Rojava.
An unverified video which went viral on Wednesday appears to show US and Russian vehicles pursuing each other.
A longer video of the confrontation. US forces appear to be blocking a road and then attempt to block the path of the Russian patrol when they drive through the field. An American MaxxPro MRAP appears to collide with a Russian Typhoon-K MRAP. 319/https://t.co/iCliZSYVY9 pic.twitter.com/xZTtN6l0Ib
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 26, 2020
The US said it had "completely withdrawn" from northeastern Syria in late 2019, according to statements made by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.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, hundreds of soldiers remain across parts of the country to protect oil fields from the Islamic State (ISIS).
Allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russian forces were deployed to northeast Syria to patrol the Turkey-Syria border following an invasion of the region by Turkish-backed Syrian proxy groups in October.
