MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Army Col. Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for US-led anti-Daesh coalition's Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), has denied media reports that it carried out an airstrike on Syria's Deir Ez-Zor, killing civilians.
The spokesman in particular mentioned Monday's Reuters article, which reported that either 14 people or up to 22 had been killed, citing Syrian state television and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Allegation is FALSE. No @CJTFOIR strikes in DaZ city Sep-Oct. Russia & pro-regime there; check their strike releases https://t.co/LcsGVQl1ob
— OIR Spokesman (@OIRSpox) 24 октября 2017 г.
The coalition, consisting of more than 70 members, has been conducting military operations in Syria without Damascus' approval or a UN mandate. Damascus has condemned the US-led coalition's actions in the country, calling it an "aggression" and a violation of Syria's sovereignty and UN resolutions.
READ MORE: Syrian Minister: US, Turkish Military Presence in Country — Aggression
The coalition's operation has also raised numerous questions from Russia, which has also been conducting an aerial operation in Syria since 2015, but at the request of the government.
According to the latest statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow is currently expecting Washington to clarify the new US strategy in Syria. The minister's words referred to the multiple cases of the anti-Daesh coalition's weapons being found in the hands of terrorists or deployment of terror militants to areas controlled by "opposition backed by the US" to maintain resistance to the Syrian government forces' offensive on Daesh terrorist positions.
READ MORE: Latest NATO Arms From US Found in Daesh Depot in Al Mayadin — Syrian General
