Russian airstrike killed Syrian government troops

USA military spokesman Steve Warren denied the coalition had conducted the alleged strike.

It is the first time U.S-led coalition airstrikes have struck Syrian military targets since the conflict erupted in March 2011, potentially opening up a new phase in the almost five-year conflict. There was no response to that assertion from either Syria or Russian Federation.

The US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, flatly dismissed accusations by Syria’s government accusing US-led coalition jets of killing three soldiers and wounded 13 in the eastern Deir al-Zor province on Sunday.

The death toll included at least seven children and four women, he said, adding that it was likely to rise, as more than a dozen civilians were still missing under rubble.

“Right now all we have is a statement that we’ve read in the newspapers, that’s not much to go on”, he said.

The Foreign Ministry also penned a letter to the United Nations secretary general and the Security Council demanding “urgent measures”, in response to the attack. With the Russians increasing their air strikes since the Turks shot down a jet last month and the USA and France, now joined by Britain, doing the same, there is an increasing risk of aircraft hitting the wrong target.

“This hampers efforts to combat terrorism and proves once again that this coalition lacks seriousness and credibility to effectively fight terrorism”, it wrote.

There is another theory that says the base is four kilometers away from any IS-controlled area, so how could it be a mistake? “That was the only area in Deir Ezzor we struck yesterday”, he said, adding that “there were no human beings in the area that we struck yesterday, all we struck was a wellhead”. The most critically-important of all IS strongholds and the unofficial capital of the so-called Islamic State, the attacks on Raqqa have been steadily intensifying for several weeks, monitoring groups report.

The Syrian government claimed nine missiles were fired at the camp, calling it an “act of aggression”. Moscow has also announced crackdowns on trade and tourism between the two countries, as well as stepping up its bombing campaign in opposition strongholds inside Syria. There are also reports of three armored vehicles, four military vehicles, machine guns and an arms ammunition depot being destroyed. A US Defence official told Reuters that his military would not attack its Syrian counterpart, saying: “We are not at war with the Assad regime and have no reason to target the Syrian army”. Based on the testimony of activists in the region, the Observatory reports that the strikes were “believed” to have been carried out by the coalition.

It followed a shooting rampage in California last week that saw an apparently radicalised couple kill 14 people.

Turkey says its troops have been stationed at a small base outside the IS-held city of Mosul since previous year as part of a training mission coordinated with the Iraqi government.

Citing unnamed officials, some media outlets have claimed the USA was certain that a Russian airstrike hitting the camp.