A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
A Russian fighter jet flew “dangerously close” to a United States drone over Syria earlier this week, the White House said on July 27.
“We have seen the early reports of a second Russian fighter aircraft this week, flying dangerously close to our drone on a defeat ISIS mission,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a press briefing.
Pierre said that the aerial incident was a violation of established protocols with Russia and international norms.
“We remain focused on the mission to defeat ISIS as is evident by our recent strike against an ISIS leader in Syria this month,” she added.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said that a Russian fighter jet hit the U.S. drone with a flare and “severely” damaged its propeller over Syria.
The U.S. claims that its military and allies are operating in Syria to counter ISIS. However, the deployment is not sanctioned by Damascus or coordinated with the Russian military group in the country.
Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, the head of the Russian military’s Reconciliation Center in Syria, announced on July 27 that the U.S.-led coalition violated Syrian airspace eight times over the past day.
In a press briefing, the senior commander said that all of the violations occurred over the southeastern area of al-Tanf, which serves as a passage for international air routes.
“Eight violations of Syrian airspace by three pairs of F-16 fighter jets, one pair of Rafale fighter jets and one pair of coalition Typhoon fighter jets were recorded in the area of Al-Tanf,” Gurinov said.
U.S.-led coalition drones also violated deconfliction protocols 15 times over the past day, the commander noted.
“The US continues to misinform the global society regarding illegal flights of their unmanned aerial vehicles in Syrian airspace, accusing Russia of ‘dangerous rapprochements,’” Gurinov said.
All dangerous situations in Syrian skies are provoked by coalition aircraft flying in violation of Syrian airspace and deconfliction protocols, the commander stressed.
Tensions over Syria are the direct result of recent attempts by the U.S. to expand its military presence in the country under the pretext of fighting ISIS. The lack of any coordination with the Russian side, tensions could eventually cause an incident.
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mi mi mi … the us are not invited by syrian government, and they have no business in syrian airspace. so, all i can say is ami go home!
well piss off ya septic tanks
is illegally occupying a sovereign nation part of international norms ?
us-regime has been bombing millions of people since the ww2, a pathetic regime, that arouses the killing of innocents.
shoot the criminal cartel’s drone down!!! is there a leader strong enough to stand up to these paper bullies? maybe iran might take these scummy yank thieves on? regardless of the consequences, enough is enough! once one us scam is opposed, their house of cards will topple. and good riddance.
at least iran had the balls to hit al tanf, even if they felt the need to inform the us beforehand. and guess what, the us didnt pull another hit like on suleimani, for which they should be tried by the icc
the us doesn’t recognize the icc – but still expects it to follow us diktats. the us also expects lesser mortals to be bound by the icc’s non existent ‘authority’. us hegemony is now a bubble, & it is terrified of it being burst. the us can’t service $35 trn debt any more, its political class crumbling away, its expensive weapons built for profit not warfare. all it has is nukes, threats & propaganda.
everyone with a brain can understand the us/eu is toast, and the ukraine war is just a lifeline for the capital elite to buy enough time to divest and move into the next profitable market, asia (and make a buck from the war at the same time).
nastal čas aby ruské vojská začali dávať dolu tieto stroje. sú v sýrii nelegálne a preto tam nemajú čo hľadať!!! kde v 3,14 … či je br osn? prečo nekoná?
hopefully we’ll get this downed, but peacefully.
told you before nazi usa get the fuck out of syria you cunts, stop your bitch whining and fuck off no one listens to you nazi usa you are irrelevent on the world stage the only ones who do not realize this is you nazi usa, next time shoot those fucking nazi usa pieces of shit drones out of the air then bomb and kill every nazi usa soldier in syria. =z=
yeah, we don’t like it when you stop our bomb also, get those bullett proof vest off, you’re frustrating our bulletts.