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Washington: a US drone strike A commander of the Islamic State group in Syria was killed hours after Russian military aircraft harassed MQ-9 Reaper drones over the western part of the country, according to The Guardian. defense to divide.
A US defense official said three Reapers were circling overhead searching for the gunman on Friday when they were harassed by Russian jets for about two hours. Shortly after that, the drones bombed and killed Osama al-Muhajir, who was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo area, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the details of the military operation. .
The official said that al-Muhajir was in northwestern Syria at the time of the strike, but that he usually worked in the east.
It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed that the dead man was al-Muhajir. No further details are available.
US Central Command said in a statement on Sunday that there were no indications that civilians were killed in the strike. The military was assessing reports of possible civilian casualties.
Friday was the third day in a row that US officials have complained about Russian fighter jets in the region making unsafe flights and harassing US drones.
During Friday’s encounter, Russian aircraft flew “18 unprofessional close passes that caused MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations,” Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Force Central Command, said in a statement.
The US military said the first contact occurred on Wednesday morning when “Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior” while three US MQ-9s were on a mission against the Islamic State group. On Thursday, the US military said Russian fighter jets had flown “incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally” against both French and US aircraft over Syria.
Col. Michael Andrews, a spokesman for Air Force Central Command, said Thursday’s incident lasted about an hour and involved close flybys, by one SU-34 and one SU-35, and that they deployed flares directly at the MQ-9.
US officials said the drones had been unarmed on previous flights but carried weapons on Friday during the hunt for the immigrant.
We’ve made it clear that we remain committed to defeating problems across the region, Gen. Eric Korella, commander of US Central Command, said in the statement.
Major General Oleg Gorinov, head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, said last week that the Russian and Syrian armies had started joint exercises for a period of six days, which will end on Monday.
Gorinov added, in statements reported by Syrian state media, that Moscow is concerned about the flight of drones of the US-led coalition over northern Syria, describing them as “systematic violations of protocols” aimed at avoiding clashes between the two armies.
A US defense official said three Reapers were circling overhead searching for the gunman on Friday when they were harassed by Russian jets for about two hours. Shortly after that, the drones bombed and killed Osama al-Muhajir, who was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo area, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the details of the military operation. .
The official said that al-Muhajir was in northwestern Syria at the time of the strike, but that he usually worked in the east.
It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed that the dead man was al-Muhajir. No further details are available.
US Central Command said in a statement on Sunday that there were no indications that civilians were killed in the strike. The military was assessing reports of possible civilian casualties.
Friday was the third day in a row that US officials have complained about Russian fighter jets in the region making unsafe flights and harassing US drones.
During Friday’s encounter, Russian aircraft flew “18 unprofessional close passes that caused MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations,” Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Force Central Command, said in a statement.
The US military said the first contact occurred on Wednesday morning when “Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior” while three US MQ-9s were on a mission against the Islamic State group. On Thursday, the US military said Russian fighter jets had flown “incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally” against both French and US aircraft over Syria.
Col. Michael Andrews, a spokesman for Air Force Central Command, said Thursday’s incident lasted about an hour and involved close flybys, by one SU-34 and one SU-35, and that they deployed flares directly at the MQ-9.
US officials said the drones had been unarmed on previous flights but carried weapons on Friday during the hunt for the immigrant.
We’ve made it clear that we remain committed to defeating problems across the region, Gen. Eric Korella, commander of US Central Command, said in the statement.
Major General Oleg Gorinov, head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, said last week that the Russian and Syrian armies had started joint exercises for a period of six days, which will end on Monday.
Gorinov added, in statements reported by Syrian state media, that Moscow is concerned about the flight of drones of the US-led coalition over northern Syria, describing them as “systematic violations of protocols” aimed at avoiding clashes between the two armies.
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