US-led coalition making 'suspicious' movements near Syria-Iraq border
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The US-led coalition is making suspicious movements in the airspace of Ain Al-Assad base in Al-Anbar Governorate near the Syrian-Iraqi borders.
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US soldiers clear rubble from a site of Iranian bombing at Ain al-Assad air base in Anbar, Iraq, January 13, 2020 (AP)
The US-led coalition forces are carrying out suspicious helicopter flights over the base of Ain Al-Assad in Al-Anbar Governorate near the Iraqi-Syrian borders, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.
The Deputy Head of Russia's Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, said that drones of the so-called US-led international counterterrorism coalition in Syria violated flight safety rules 315 times during the month of June.
"There are continued gross violations of the deconflicting protocols and the bilateral Memorandum on Flight Safety in Syria by the US-led so-called international coalition. The violations are deliberate and systematic, and their number has increased significantly compared with last year. In June 2023, there were 315 cases of violations related to flights of drones and ‘coalition’ aviation," TASS quoted Gurinov as saying.
Gurinov said Russian forces used high-precision strikes to eliminate illegal armed formations in the Idlib de-escalation zone, resulting in the destruction of several command posts, ammunition depots, and 18 militants.
Moreover, Gurinov said in early July that the so-called US-led international counterterrorism coalition in Syria has committed 14 violations of uncoordinated drone flights in one day.
"During the past day, 14 violations of the Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Flight Safety Incidents in the course of operations in the Syrian Arab Republic dated October 20, 2015, related to flights of unmanned aerial vehicles uncoordinated with the Russian side by the 'international anti-terrorist coalition' led by the United States were recorded," Gurinov told a briefing.
In past months, the US has been activating its arms system on Russian aircraft over Syria. Gurinov said that Russian pilots have logged such actions in eastern Syria, noting that the US continues to breach deconfliction protocols with Russia and the air safety agreement in Syria.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in June that it deployed several F-22 fighter jets across the Middle East in response to Russia's alleged "unprofessional" actions.
Russian forces responded by saying that the US-led international coalition is continuing to commit gross violations of deconfliction protocols and of the Air Safety Memorandum in Syria.
"Gross violations of the deconfliction protocols and the bilateral Memorandum on Air Safety in Syria by the US-led so-called international coalition continue. Violations are purposeful and systematic. Over the past day, 18 cases of violations related to the flights of drones and aviation of the coalition were recorded," Gurinov told a briefing on June 22, noting that terror attacks against Syrian troops and civilians have increasingly become frequent.
The suspicious movements come after a Syrian security source reported Friday that 20 soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in an ambush targeting a bus carrying members of the Syrian Arab Army in Syria's Deir Ezzor.
The source further explained that "ISIS militants carried out an ambush targeting a military bus on the T2 road in Badia Al-Mayadeen in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor."
Earlier this month, ISIS announced in an undated recording on Telegram the death of its leader, Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi, during clashes in Idlib, in northwestern Syria.
Read more: ISIS claims responsibility for two explosions in Sayyidah Zeinab area
