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US Patrol Returns Fire at Government Checkpoint in Northeast Syria

Sirwan Kajjo

   WASHINGTON - A U.S. military patrol returned fire at a checkpoint
   manned by pro-Syrian regime forces in northeast Syria, reportedly
   killing one soldier and wounding two others.

   "Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), conducting a routine
   anti-ISIS security patrol near Tal Al-Zahab, Syria, encountered a
   checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian regime forces," the U.S.-led
   international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) terror group
   said in a statement Monday.

   "After receiving safe passage from the pro-regime forces, the patrol
   came under small-arms fire from individuals in the vicinity of the
   checkpoint," the statement said, adding that "coalition troops returned
   fire in self-defense."

     ð´On 8/17, [1]@CJTFOIR & [2]@cmoc_sdf, conducting a routine
     anti-ISIS security patrol near Tal Al-Zahab, encountered a
     checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian regime forces...the patrol [was
     attacked]. Coalition troops returned fire in self-defense. No
     Coalition casualties. Full Statement ðð½
     [3]pic.twitter.com/3qWFrZh1wR
     -- OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) [4]August 17,
     2020

   One Syrian soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the
   incident, according to the Syrian state news agency, SANA.

   SANA alleged that U.S. warplanes carried out an airstrike on the
   checkpoint, but the coalition affirmed that it "did not conduct any
   airstrike." The coalition also said no casualties occurred on its side.

   Regular patrol

   A coalition military official told VOA that Monday's patrol was a
   regularly scheduled mission in the area "to ensure freedom of movement
   and verify the location of [Syrian regime] checkpoints in eastern
   Syria."

   Tal al-Zahab is located near the city of Qamishli in northeast Syria.
   Qamishli is largely under the control of the Kurdish-led SDF, a major
   U.S. partner in the fight against IS. Syrian regime troops, however,
   maintain some presence in the area.

   The military official said, "Coalition patrol leaders and [the Syrian
   regime] checkpoint officer met face-to-face to deconflict movement on
   the spot," adding that "the interaction was professional."

   It was only after the passage of the U.S. patrol that Syrian regime
   forces opened fire at the American side, the official said, which
   trigged an immediate response.

   Previous incident

   In February, a [5]U.S. military convoy was attacked by pro-Syrian
   regime militia fighters near Qamishli.

   U.S. forces were in control of most of northeast Syria until October
   2019, when the Turkish military and its allied Syrian militias launched
   a campaign against the U.S.-backed SDF.

   Since then, Russian forces and the Syrian government have entered parts
   of the border region between Turkey and northeast Syria with the aim of
   filling the area evacuated by U.S. forces.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/CJTFOIR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://twitter.com/cmoc_sdf?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://t.co/3qWFrZh1wR
   4. https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/1295334387828109314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   5. https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/us-convoy-attacked-pro-government-militia-northeast-syria

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