On Monday morning, U.S. military officials addressed the Syrian Government’s allegations that a member state from the U.S.-led Anti-ISIS Coalition struck the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions in the Deir Ezzor Governorate’s northern countryside.
The U.S. military official vehemently denied any aggression towards the Syrian Arab Army in the Deir Ezzor Governorate, stating it was the Russian Air Force that was responsible for this abrupt airstrike that killed and wounded a number of soldiers at the village of ‘Ayyash on Sunday evening.
According to the U.S. military official, no Anti-Coalition Air Force was within 34 miles of ‘Ayyash, despite several ground reports from the Syrian Arab Army soldiers operating inside of this province in eastern Syria.
As a result of this “phantom” airstrike, 3 soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17thReserve Division were reportedly killed and another 13 were reported to be in critical condition.
The airstrike apparently struck a Syrian Arab Army camp outside of the ‘Ayyash storage base; this site was uncontested and not threatened by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).
However, following the airstrike, ISIS launched a powerful assault on the village of ‘Ayyash; this aforementioned village and its nearby Broadcasting Tower are mostly under the control of the Syrian Armed Forces.
Al-Masdar News caught up with the member of the Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Airborne Brigade (Republican Guard) that originally reported this news: according to a 1st Lieutenant from this brigade, the airstrike was not launched by the Syrian Arab Air Force, nor was the Russian Air Force involved in this unprovoked attack.
The 1st Lieutenant added that the Syrian Arab Army’s Central Command believes that the U.S. led Anti-ISIS Coalition is 100% behind this airstrike.