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Russia bombed location in Syria near where US troops were present
There exists a 'de-confliction' hotline between US and Russian commanders. Apparently, the Russians either aren't listening or they don't care.
By Barbara Starr and Ryan Browne
September 18, 2017
US troops were present when Russian warplanes bombed US backed anti-ISIS fighters in Syria on Saturday, two US officials told CNN, highlighting how close the two countries came to a major international incident. A team of US Special Operations Forces were advising US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces at the location the Russians struck in Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, one US official said. US personnel were "at most a couple of miles" away from the where the bomb landed, the official added. The US troops provided medical care to members of the Syrian Democratic Forces that were wounded in the airstrike, an image of which was tweeted out by the coalition. The US-led coalition fighting ISIS, Operation Inherent Resolve, issued a statement Saturday saying "Russian munitions impacted a location known to the Russians to contain Syrian Democratic Forces and coalition advisers." A coalition official told CNN that the coalition denied a Russian military request to strike an area in the province of Deir Ezzor, as there were coalition advisers and US-backed Syrian forces there. But the Russians decided to carry out the strike anyway.
There exists a 'de-confliction' hotline between US and Russian commanders. Apparently, the Russians either aren't listening or they don't care.