WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against Daesh does not oppose the Syrian military moving into areas held by the terrorists if they are fighting them, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Ryan Dillon said in a briefing on Friday.
"The Syrian regime — and it looks like they [the Syrians] are making a concerted effort to move into ISIS [Daesh]-held areas — and if they show they can do that, that is not a bad sign," Dillon told reporters.
Dillon stressed that the deconfliction line with Russia remains open and in use, and the coalition wants to avoid clashes with the Syrian military troops or aligned forces around Abu Kamal and At Tanf.
On June 18, a US jet shot down a Syrian Su-22 fighter-bomber near the city of Tabqa. The US-led coalition said the Syrian aircraft attacked Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions, adding that the coalition downed the Syrian jet as part of "collective self-defense of Coalition partnered forces."
Additionally, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that any airborne objects west of the Euphrates River would be tracked by Russian ground and air defenses as targets.
On Tuesday, a US F-15 fighter jet shot down an Iranian-made drone near al-Tanf after it was assessed to pose a threat to coalition forces.
