Many areas in Syria have been destroyed from the U.S.- and Russian-led fights against the Islamic State (ISIS). (Photo: Reuters)
Mar 01, 2017
Russian and Syrian forces "accidentally" bombed U.S.-backed fighters in Syria on Tuesday, killing some Syrian rebels, a top U.S. general said Wednesday.
A joint operation targeting Islamic State (ISIS) militants near the village of al-Bab sent missiles at Syrian coalition troops instead, according to Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend.
"Yesterday, we had some Russian aircraft and regime aircraft bomb some villages that I believe they thought were held by ISIS," Townsend said. "Yet, they were actually--on the ground were some of our Syrian Arab Coalition forces."
U.S. forces on the ground less than three miles from the site reportedly observed the strike and alerted the Russian military through an emergency line, after which the bombing stopped, he continued.
The Russian ministry has denied Townsend's claim. The state-run outlet Russia Today quoted a statement from the ministry that read, "Not a single air strike on the regions specified by the U.S. side was conducted by Russian or Syrian air forces."
Russia deployed aircrafts to Syria in late 2015 to aid President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against ISIS, while U.S. troops support the Syrian opposition forces, and the two sides set up a communication channel to avoid getting into each other's air space.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Russian and Syrian forces "accidentally" bombed U.S.-backed fighters in Syria on Tuesday, killing some Syrian rebels, a top U.S. general said Wednesday.
A joint operation targeting Islamic State (ISIS) militants near the village of al-Bab sent missiles at Syrian coalition troops instead, according to Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend.
"Yesterday, we had some Russian aircraft and regime aircraft bomb some villages that I believe they thought were held by ISIS," Townsend said. "Yet, they were actually--on the ground were some of our Syrian Arab Coalition forces."
U.S. forces on the ground less than three miles from the site reportedly observed the strike and alerted the Russian military through an emergency line, after which the bombing stopped, he continued.
The Russian ministry has denied Townsend's claim. The state-run outlet Russia Today quoted a statement from the ministry that read, "Not a single air strike on the regions specified by the U.S. side was conducted by Russian or Syrian air forces."
Russia deployed aircrafts to Syria in late 2015 to aid President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against ISIS, while U.S. troops support the Syrian opposition forces, and the two sides set up a communication channel to avoid getting into each other's air space.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Russian and Syrian forces "accidentally" bombed U.S.-backed fighters in Syria on Tuesday, killing some Syrian rebels, a top U.S. general said Wednesday.
A joint operation targeting Islamic State (ISIS) militants near the village of al-Bab sent missiles at Syrian coalition troops instead, according to Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend.
"Yesterday, we had some Russian aircraft and regime aircraft bomb some villages that I believe they thought were held by ISIS," Townsend said. "Yet, they were actually--on the ground were some of our Syrian Arab Coalition forces."
U.S. forces on the ground less than three miles from the site reportedly observed the strike and alerted the Russian military through an emergency line, after which the bombing stopped, he continued.
The Russian ministry has denied Townsend's claim. The state-run outlet Russia Today quoted a statement from the ministry that read, "Not a single air strike on the regions specified by the U.S. side was conducted by Russian or Syrian air forces."
Russia deployed aircrafts to Syria in late 2015 to aid President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against ISIS, while U.S. troops support the Syrian opposition forces, and the two sides set up a communication channel to avoid getting into each other's air space.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.