Pentagon Denies US-Led Coalition Works With Daesh Terrorists in Syria

The Pentagon has denied that the US-led coalition is working with Daesh terrorists in Syria in the wake of the statement by the Russian Defense Ministry that said that Washington's support for terrorists is the main obstacle to the complete elimination of terrorists in the war-ravaged nation.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Any suggestion that the US-led coalition is cooperating with Daesh terror group is baseless and unhelpful, US Department of Defense spokesperson Adrian Rankine-Galloway told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Coalition forces remain focused on the defeat of ISIS [Daesh]. Any suggestion that US forces or our Coalition partners work with terrorist groups is baseless and unhelpful to the operation to defeat ISIS," Rankine-Galloway said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said earlier on Wednesday that US support of terrorists was "the main obstacle" to defeating the terror group in Syria.

The ministry said Daesh terrorists carried out a series of coordinated attacks on Syrian government troops near the village of Rukban from a zone controlled by US forces.

Rankine Galloway denied the allegation, saying the coalition continues to deconflict its operations with Russia in order to safeguard against any mishaps or strategic miscalculations in the battlefield.

Earlier in September, the Russian Defense Ministry published a batch of aerial pictures showing that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US troops that support them are present in Syria's areas held by Daesh.