No confirmation
seeks to secure a land corridor between forces it backs in Syria and Iraq.
The coalition statement said the location was close to where another “proregime” drone — which intelligence sources had also identified as Iranian — was shot down on June 8 after dropping bombs near coalition forces.
In an indirect reference to Iranianbacked forces that have been gathering in the eastern desert region, the coalition statement cited a recent escalation of tensions and said it would not “tolerate any hostile intent and action of pro-regime forces”.
Tensions escalated on Sunday as the US army brought down the jet near Raqqa and Iran launched missiles at Islamic State targets in eastern Syria — the first time each state has carried out such actions in the multi-sided Syrian war.
Russia, like Iran an ally of President Bashar al-Assad, issued a warning of its own to the United States in response to the downing of the Syrian jet, saying on Monday it would view as targets any planes flying west of the Euphrates River, though it stopped short of saying it would shoot any down.
In Syria’s tangled conflict, Washington backs a coalition of rebel forces fighting both President Bashar al-Assad and Islamist militants, while Assad is backed by Russia, Iran and Shi’ite militia.
The US military has repeatedly warned forces fighting on Assad’s side to stay away from a “deconfliction zone”, agreed with Russia, near a garrison used by US special forces and US-backed militia around Al Tanf.
On several occasions in recent weeks, warplanes of the US-led coalition have also struck pro-government forces to prevent them advancing from the Al Tanf garrison in southeastern
Syria at a spot where the country’s borders join Iraq and Jordan.
Washington also described those strikes as self-defense.
The competition between the Syrian army and the militias and US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels has stepped up in the Badia desert that stretches to the Iraqi border after Islamic State abandoned large swathes of territory as it defends Raqqa and Deir Zor.
The Syrian army has been able to make rapid adavances allowing them to reach the border for the first time in years.
Meanwhile, the US military on Tuesday said Russia was not carrying out any actions in Syria that “cause us concern,” even after Moscow said a day earlier it would treat US-led coalition aircraft flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria as potential targets.
“Public statements aside, we have not seen the Russians do any actions that cause us concern. We continue to operate, making some adjustments for prudent measures,” said Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis.