The Pentagon has admitted the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group in Syria may have struck Syrian military positions inside the country after Russia accused it of killing at least 62 Syrian troops.
“Coalition forces believed they were striking a Daesh fighting position,” Central Command, known as Centcom, said in a statement, using an alternate term for the ISIS group. “The coalition air strike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military.”
The United States “regrets” the death of Syrian troops, a senior US administration official said. Washington has “relayed our regret through the Russian Federation for the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces,” he said.
Syria’s armed forces said coalition aircraft hit a Syrian military position near the Deir Ezzor airport in the country’s east, in what appears to have been the first time coalition forces have hit a Syrian regime target. The Russian military said two F-16 and two A-10 jets flew into Syrian air space from neighboring Iraq to carry out the strikes.