US-Led Coalition's Strikes on Syrian Troops Not Pre-Planned - Reports

The airstrikes conducted by the aircraft of the US-led coalition near Syria's Deir ez-Zor that have resulted in the deaths of dozens of the Syrian servicemen had not been planned beforehand, the USA Today reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The strikes by the coalition planes near the Deir ez-Zor airport were first reported by the Syrian army on Saturday. Later in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attack, saying they killed 62 servicemen and injured 100 more. The US Central Command said that Syrian forces were mistaken for Daesh fighters.

The USA Today newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a US official that the attack was of "dynamic" nature, meaning that the operation was not pre-planned and was carried out against a target of opportunity.

Military command approved the aircraft to attack the positions it considered to be held by the Daesh jihadist group, the media outlet added.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries, including the United States and Russia. The government-held city of Deir ez-Zor has been under siege from Daesh since July 2014.

The US-led coalition has been carrying out anti-Daesh strikes since September 2014 without the approval of the UN Security Council or Syrian authorities.