U.S. airstrike hits pro-Assad forces in Syria for first time
BEIRUT — A U.S. airstrike struck pro-Syrian government forces that the coalition said posed a threat to American troops and allied rebels operating near the border with Jordan on Thursday, the first such close confrontation between U.S. forces and fighters backing President Bashar Assad.
The coalition said “apparent” Russian attempts to stop pro-Assad forces from moving toward Tanf, as well as warning shots and a show of force, had failed.
American officials and Syrian activists said the strike hit in the desert near the border with Jordan, though it was unclear if it struckthe Syrian army or just militiasallied with the government.
The region around Tanf, where the borders of Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet, has been considered a de-conflicted zone, under an agreement between the U.S. and Russia.
Assad’s government had no immediate response to the incident. But in a second encounter on Thursday, Pentagon officials said, a Syrian SU-22 fighterbomber that had entered the deconfliction zone was intercepted by a pair of F-22 fighter jets. It was not fired upon and left the area.
Speaking to reporters, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. will defend its troops in case of “aggressive” steps against
them. He was asked if the airstrike increases the U.S. role in the Syrian war.
“We are not increasing our role in the Syrian civil war, but we will defend our troops,” Mr. Mattis said. “And that is a coalition element made up of more than just U.S. troops, and so we will defend ourselves [if] people take aggressive steps against us.”
The number of U.S. forces in Syria has steadily increased in recent months. The border crossing in Tanf is home to a garrison where U.S., British and Norwegian troops have been working for months with a Syrian rebel faction, named the Army of the Revolution’s Commandos.
The “defensive” strike was also an apparent signal to Assad to keep his forces out of a zone where U.S.backed rebels are fighting the Islamic State group.
“This action was taken after apparent Russian attempts to dissuade Syrian pro-regime movement south … were unsuccessful, a coalition aircraft show of force, and the firing of warning shots,” the U.S.-led coalitions aid. It said coalition forces have been operating in the area “for many months training and advising vetted partner forces” in the battle against IS.
The U.S. strike marks a newapproach in what has become an intensely crowded and complicated war zone. Thursday’s strike was the coalition’s first on pro-Assad forces in the battlefield. The coalition had so far kept its military operations focused on IS extremists and alQaida-linkedgroups.
Last month, the U.S. fired 59 missiles at a government air base in central Syria as punishment for a chemical attack blamed on Assad’s forces that killed nearly 90 people.
The U.S. officials said the American airstrike hit the pro-Syrian government forces as they were setting up fighting positions in a protected area near Tanf. They said a tank and a bulldozer were also hit, and those inside appeared to have been killed.
One official said the proregime forces had entered a so-called “de-confliction” zone without authorization and were perceived as a threat to U.S.-allied troops there. The officials weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.
A Syrian opposition media group, the Palmyra News Network, said the attack occurred at the Zarka juncture, about 17 miles from the border, destroyed a number of vehicles and caused casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the strike destroyed vehicles and killed eight militiamen.
Farther to the north, IS militants on Thursday attacked several governmentheld villages in central Syria, capturing at least one and killing 52 people, including more than two dozen women and children.