US-led coalition strikes Syrian and Russian forces in Deir ez-Zor
Dozens of Syrian Army soldiers, Iranian-backed militias, and Russian military came under bombardment by the US-Led coalition on Thursday in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, reports the Euphrates Post, citing its sources.
According to Euphrates Post, in Thursday’s attack, the second in the past few weeks, a large number of armored vehicles and tanks of the Syrian Forces were destroyed.
It is reported that Syrian Armed Forces and allied militias crossed to the east bank of the Euphrates River and established a temporary base near the villages of Khasham and Murat.
The US-led coalition struck the positions of the Syrian army and allied forces to prevent the possible attack on the area controlled by the Coalition. The US reportedly had to carry out airstrikes because the large number of Syrian troops and armor accumulated on the eastern bank of the Euphrates in violation of previously reached agreements.
Earlier withdrawal from the area of some of the Syrian Democratic Forces supported by the US could have prompted the Assad forces to make another attempt to capture oil and gas-rich areas from the US-Led Coalition. The Conoco gas field is one of the richest gas deposits in Syria. The field was capture by SDF forces which are supported by the US in September 2017.
On February 7, in similar circumstances, the US-led coalition forces conducted the strike against the Syrian militia affiliated with Assad in the province of Deir ez Zor. The U.S. coalition said that the blow was struck in response to an attack on the headquarters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). According to Reuters, at least 100 people were killed in the attack while Russian sources provide a much higher number.