US-led coalition forces say they killed up to 100 militants loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an overnight air strike in retaliation for an attack on their Kurdish and Arab allies.
SDF and Syrian forces control areas on both side of the River Euphrates in Deir al-Zour province.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hundreds of pro-Assad fighters backed by artillery, tanks and other heavy weaponry, tried to take ground captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces from the Islamic State, the BBC reports.
“We suspect Syrian pro-regime forces were attempting to seize terrain SDF had liberated from Daesh (Isis) in September 2017,” an official told Reuters, adding that the forces were “likely seeking to seize oil fields in Khusham that had been a major source of revenue for Daesh from 2014 to 2017”.
A top Russian official rejected claims that the move was in self-defence, and Syria condemned the attack, heightening tension after months of relative calm in the war-ravaged country, the Wall Street Journal says.
Syrian news agency Sana says the US-led coalition targeted “popular forces” that were fighting Isis terrorists and Qasad groups in Deir Ezzor countryside.
Officials declined to identify details of the attacking forces, “suspected to be Syrian or from one of a number of allied militia units, including from Iraq and Lebanon, that are backing President Bashar al-Assad in the country's seven-year civil war”, the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National says.
No US forces and one SDF fighter reportedly died in the operation.
More than 465,000 Syrians have been killed during almost eight years of fighting, and more than 12 million - half of Syria’s pre-war population - have been displaced, Al Jazerra English says.
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Codeword: August 24, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Rubio says US brokered end to Syria conflictSpeed Read Syria's defense ministry was targeted in Israeli attacks on the capital
-
Syria's returning refugeesThe Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
