US to Russia: Syria military cooperation not guaranteed

The Pentagon said Friday that dozens of US Special Operations Forces had been deployed to Syria’s border with Turkey to fight ISIS, at Ankara’s request, in support of Turkey’s army and “vetted” Syrian rebels.

France and other council members have said they must first learn more details about the deal before considering whether to endorse it.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the USA attack killed 62 Syrian troops, wounded 100 more and opened the way for an Islamic State offensive.

The Russian military says Syrian troops have begun pulling back from the highway but pointedly accuse rebel forces of failing to leave their own positions.

“Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and a hundred others were injured in these strikes”. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the airstrike near Deir el-Zour airport, held by the government, was conducted by two F-16s and two A-10s. The channel quoted a statement issued by the Syrian military’s general command, which said the attack exposed “false claims of fighting terrorism” by the United States.

Moscow subsequently said the Assad regime had been told to allow United Nations aid through to Aleppo.

The bombing hit an army position in the east, near the IS-controlled town of Deir Ezzor, a Russian army statement said. “Leading to intense clashes and rocket fire”, a military source told AFP.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Moscow is using its influence on the Syrian government to make sure the cease-fire holds and wants the United States to do the same with regards to opposition groups.

The inaction of the American side has already led to a worsening of the situation in Syria, the General Staff official stressed.

“In the past 24 hours, the number of attacks have risen sharply”, with 55 attacks on government positions and civilians, killing 12 civilians.

Over the last several days, there have been acts of violence “committed by all sides”, according to Kirby.

If the ceasefire deal is successful, Moscow and Washington will start to share targeting information on militant groups, including Islamic State, they have said.

Moscow retaliated by casting doubt on Washington’s influence over its allies among the various rebel groups in Syria which were not respecting the ceasefire, whereas Russia’s sole ally – the Syrian government – had stopped all fighting since the truce came into effect last Monday.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power tonight blasted Russia for calling an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to a U.S. -led coalition airstrike that mistakenly killed over 60 Syrian regime troops, and wounded 100 more, according to numbers provided by the Russian Defense Ministry.

On Sep. 16, Russian Federation and U.S. planned to hold a joint briefing for UN Security Council members to inform them about the reached agreement.

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Russia’s task was to restrain the forces of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime while Washington leans on the rebel groups opposing him.

He suggested Washington’s resistance stems from a hope to retain the combat potential of forces fighting the Syrian government.

Russian officials blame US -backed rebels for not withdrawing from the combat zone, in the truce that began Monday.

Lavrov noted the “refusal by an array of illegal armed groups to join the cease-fire” and Washington’s obligation to “separate units of the moderate opposition from terrorist groupings”.

Government forces and rebels groups have traded accusations of truce violations, and aid groups are still waiting to deliver humanitarian supplies to besieged areas inside Syria.