A US jet has shot down an Iranian-made drone operated by forces backing the Syrian government in the south of the country, American officials say.

The drone was thought to be armed and threatening US-led coalition troops on the ground, officials said.

But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the action amounted to “complicity with terrorism”.

The incident comes after the US shot down a Syrian fighter plane on Sunday and another drone earlier this month.

The F-15 plane downed the drone around 00:30 on Tuesday (21:30 GMT Monday) north-east of Tanf, an outpost of the US-led coalition, according to a US military statement.

The incident underscores the growing tensions in the region as a battle develops for the control of eastern Syria, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.

In another development, the US military announced officially that coalition forces had killed the top cleric of so-called Islamic State (IS), Turki al-Binali, in an air strike in Syria last month. IS supporters have also reported his death.

It is said by the Iranians to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and be capable of carrying bombs and missiles.

“They were threatening our forces on the ground,” the US official quoted by AFP said. “Their course was on a run toward our folks to drop a munition on them.”

The last drone the US says it shot down was also reportedly destroyed near Tanf after firing on coalition forces.

Tanf has been used by Western special forces as well as Syrian rebel forces.

The Syrian plane destroyed on Sunday, a Su-22 fighter bomber, was hit after reportedly dropping bombs near the town of Tabqa in Raqqa province.

In response, Russia, one of Syria’s main allies, announced that US-led coalition warplanes flying west of the River Euphrates would be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets

It suspended a hotline set up to avoid clashes between US and Russian aircraft in the region.

How dangerous is the situation?

With IS under growing pressure in Raqqa the fight is on for who controls the territory after its demise, our correspondent says.

Iranian-backed pro-Syrian regime forces are pushing forward on a number of fronts, and the US is equally eager to resist what it sees as a widening of Iranian influence.

Iran says it attacked IS fighters in eastern Syria with long-range missiles on Sunday.

So the tensions locally are mounting between the US and pro-regime forces; between the US and the Russians; and more broadly between Washington and Tehran.

By accident or design, any one of these sources of friction could prompt a much more significant military encounter, our correspondent adds.

Originally from Bahrain, Binali joined IS in 2014 and played a key role within the group acting as its top religious official and offering guidance to its leaders and militants alike, BBC Monitoring reports.

US Central Command says he was killed by an air strike on 31 May in the eastern town of Mayadin.

IS supporters went online to announce his death. BBC News </s> The United States has confirmed that it has shot down an Iranian drone flying over Syria near the now infamous illegal US base near At Tanf in southern Syria.

At Tanf has been the location of several illegal US attacks on Syrian and allied convoys.

This is the first aggressive act the US has committed against a Syrian allied aircraft in 48 hours. Two days ago, the US downed a Syrian jet flying in Syrian airspace, a clear violation of the letter and spirit of international law.

The US is literally an illegal occupying force in Syria with no international mandate or justification for its operations in the country.

Iran by contrast operates in Syria legally as part of the Syrian led anti-terrorist coalition which also includes Russia.

The United States said that it would try to avoid confrontations with Syrian and allied aircraft after Russia said it would consider non-allied aircraft flying west of the Euphrates in Syria as legitimate targets.

This is the first US attack on a Syrian allied aircraft since Russia issued its warning.

The US detailed the nature of the downing of the Iranian drone in the following way,

The US keeps saying that it has no intention of targeting Syrian and allied aircraft but these words are betrayed by unrelenting US actions to the contrary.

The US has now shot down Syrian aircraft and Iranian aircraft. All that remains is for the US to attempt to shoot down a Russian aircraft for things to get incredibly dangerous, more so than they already are.

The illegal US base in At Tanif has been a consistently dangerous place for Syrian and allied troops.

Any member of the Syrian coalition, including Russia would be within its rights to strike at the US base in At Tanif and reduce it to rubble.

Russia ought to strongly consider the possibility of giving personnel at the base a short time to evacuate before firing on the garrison and destroying it once and for all. </s> A United States (US) warplane shot down an Iranian-made drone operated by pro-regime forces in southern Syria early Tuesday, officials said, in the latest incident in rising tensions between the two sides.

It comes days after a US warplane shot down a Syrian government fighter jet in the north of the country, prompting a furious reaction from Russia.

Moscow has now suspended an incident hotline intended to prevent confrontations in Syria's crowded air space, and warned it could consider US-led coalition planes “targets”.

The rising tensions prompted Australia to announce it was suspending its participation in air missions over Syria as part of the US-led coalition fighting the militant Islamic State group.

In Tuesday's incident, the US-led coalition said an F-15E Strike Eagle jet destroyed an armed Shahed-129 drone in the early hours of the morning as it neared the Al-Tanaf base along Syria's eastern border.

“It displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces,” the statement said.

A US military official told AFP the drone was “on a run toward our folks to drop a munition on them” and was shot down in self-defence.

Coalition forces are using the Al-Tanaf base by Syria's borders with Jordan and Iraq to train anti-jihadist Syrian fighters and stage attacks against IS.

But their presence there has led to a series of confrontations with pro-regime forces, including on June 8 when a US plane also downed a drone after it dropped munitions near Al-Tanaf.

That incident followed two others involving US fire against pro-regime forces on the ground as they came close to the garrison.

Tensions have also flared between US forces and the Syrian regime further north, where the coalition is supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters battling to oust IS from the city of Raqa.

On Sunday, a US fighter jet downed a Syrian government warplane for the first time in the country's conflict south of Raqa, sparking an angry reaction from regime ally Russia.

Moscow said it was suspending an incident hotline set up two years ago and warned that it would consider international aircraft operating in central Syria “aerial targets.”

Washington said it would “work diplomatically and militarily... to reestablish deconfliction” but Moscow continued to take a hard line Tuesday even before the latest incident.

“It is absolutely illegal,” Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Tuesday of the presence of American forces in Syria.

“There has been neither a Security Council decision, nor a request from the official authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic as a sovereign state,” Russia's Interfax news reported.

The growing tensions come as the coalition supports the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting to take Raqa from IS.

The SDF now control four neighbourhoods in the city, and on Tuesday also advanced along its southern outskirts, moving closer to completely encircling Raqa.

Syria's government is not involved in the operation and is instead looking further east to the largely IS-held oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor.

Its forces are moving on three fronts, south of Raqa city, through the central Badia desert region, and along the eastern border.

And it is on the Raqa and eastern border fronts where the advances have brought the regime into conflict with US-led forces.

On June 9, despite the series of engagements with US forces at Al-Tanaf, the regime skirted around the base to arrive at the Iraqi border for the first time since 2015.

The move effectively blocks international forces and their local partners in the garrison, and prevents them from themselves advancing towards Deir Ezzor.

Despite the increasing number of incidents, analysts say neither Syria's regime nor Washington currently wants a major confrontation.

“It doesn't look like anyone currently intends to deliberately escalate further, but when you've got these little skirmishes... the risk is that you can end up in an escalation by accident,” said Sam Heller, a Syria expert at The Century Foundation.

More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict began with anti-government demonstrations in March 2011.

It has became a complex war drawing in multiple foreign players, including Russia, which launched a military campaign to support the regime in 2015 that has helped the government recapture large swathes of territory. </s> The United States military shot down a suspected pro-regime drone that fired on coalition forces in southern Syria on Thursday, according to the U.S.-led coalition spokesperson.

Colonel Ryan Dillon said that the drone was armed and fired on coalition forces operating outside of the de-confliction zone around Al Tanf. There were no coalition casualties, Dillon said during a briefing in Baghdad.

The drone was similar to a U.S. MQ-1 Predator, he said.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement later Thursday that the pro-regime drone was shot down by U.S. aircraft after it dropped one of several weapons it was carrying near a position occupied by coalition personnel who were training and advising ground forces there in the fight against ISIS.

The U.S. also conducted strikes against two technical vehicles Thursday morning,which were pick-up trucks with weapons that posed a threat to the U.S. and the coalition forces at Al Tanf Garrison, Dillon said.

This is the third set of strikes the U.S. has conducted in defense of U.S. and coalition forces at Al Tanf. The three were an air to ground strike on May 18, air to ground on June 6 , and one air to ground on the trucks and and one air to air on the drone on Thursday.

CENTCOM said in its statement that the coalition "does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them," but added that "the demonstrated hostile intent and actions of pro-regime forces near Coalition and partner forces in southern Syria, however, continue to concern us and the Coalition will take appropriate measures to protect our forces."

The airstrike in May appeared to be the first publicly known direct confrontation between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. </s> WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - The United States shot down a pro-Syrian government drone that fired toward U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria on Thursday, a U.S. military spokesman said, in a major escalation of tensions between Washington and troops supporting Damascus.

The armed drone "hit dirt" and there were no injuries or damage done to the coalition patrol in southern Syria. But U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State, told reporters the drone meant to attack them and dismissed the possibility it had fired a warning shot.

Dillon said the United States had earlier carried out a strike against pick-up trucks with weapons that had moved against U.S.-backed fighters near the southern town of At Tanf.

It was the third such strike in as many weeks by the Pentagon, which has sought to stay out of Syria's civil war to focus firepower instead on Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

On Tuesday, the United States launched an air strike against Iranian-backed fighters who it said posed a threat to U.S. and U.S.-backed forces in southern Syria.

A military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad threatened on Wednesday to hit U.S. positions in Syria, warning its "self-restraint" over U.S. air strikes would end if Washington crossed "red lines".

In recent days, the U.S. military has repeatedly warned massing forces to stay away from a 'deconfliction zone' near a garrison used by American special forces and U.S.-backed fighters around At Tanf.

The zone was agreed with Russia, Syrian President Bashar al Assad's ally. Assad is also backed by Iran and Shi'ite militias.

Tanf is part of a region known as the Badia, a vast, sparsely populated desert territory that stretches to the Jordanian and Iraqi borders and was declared a military priority by Syria's foreign minister in May. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by James Dalgleish) </s> Beirut - A US warplane shot down an Iranian-made drone operated by pro-regime forces in southern Syria early Tuesday, officials said, in the latest incident in rising tensions between the two sides.

It comes days after a US warplane shot down a Syrian government fighter jet in the north of the country, prompting a furious reaction from Russia.

Moscow has now suspended an incident hotline intended to prevent confrontations in Syria’s crowded air space, and warned it could consider US-led coalition planes “targets”. The rising tensions prompted Australia to announce it was suspending its participation in air missions over Syria as part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. In Tuesday’s incident, the US-led coalition said an F-15E Strike Eagle jet destroyed an armed Shahed-129 drone in the early hours of the morning as it neared the Al-Tanaf base along Syria’s eastern border.

“It displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces,” the statement said.

A US military official told AFP the drone was “on a run toward our folks to drop a munition on them” and was shot down in self-defence. Coalition forces are using the Al-Tanaf base by Syria’s borders with Jordan and Iraq to train anti-jihadist Syrian fighters and stage attacks against IS. But their presence there has led to a series of confrontations with pro-regime forces, including on June 8 when a US plane also downed a drone after it dropped munitions near Al-Tanaf.

That incident followed two others involving US fire against pro-regime forces on the ground as they came close to the garrison.

Tensions have also flared between US forces and the Syrian regime further north, where the coalition is supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters battling to oust IS from the city of Raqa.

On Sunday, a US fighter jet downed a Syrian government warplane for the first time in the country’s conflict south of Raqa, sparking an angry reaction from regime ally Russia.

Moscow said it was suspending an incident hotline set up two years ago and warned that it would consider international aircraft operating in central Syria “aerial targets.”

Washington said it would “work diplomatically and militarily... to reestablish deconfliction” but Moscow continued to take a hard line Tuesday even before the latest incident.

“It is absolutely illegal,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Tuesday of the presence of American forces in Syria.

“There has been neither a Security Council decision, nor a request from the official authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic as a sovereign state,” Russia’s Interfax news reported.

The growing tensions come as the coalition supports the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting to take Raqa from IS. </s> BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military said it shot down an Iranian-made, armed drone in southern Syria on Tuesday, marking the third time this month that that the U.S. has downed aircraft affiliated with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said a U.S. F-15 fighter jet shot down the drone “after it displayed hostile intent” while approaching a military camp near the Syria-Jordan border. A similar drone was shot down in the same location after it dropped munitions near coalition forces on June 8.

The repeated incidents in the vicinity of the Tanf camp, where U.S. forces train and advise local ground forces in the fight against IS, add to soaring regional tensions that could spiral out of control just as the fight against the extremists enters a crucial phase, with U.S.-backed forces pushing into the group’s de facto capital, the Syrian city of Raqqa.

The U.S. on Sunday shot down a Syrian jet for the first time during the conflict near Raqqa after it dropped bombs near the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, which are battling IS. Russia condemned the U.S. action and in retaliation suspended a hotline intended to prevent such incidents.

The U.S. has also fired on Syrian government ground forces in the east on two occasions in just the last month.

A defense official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drone shot down Tuesday was a Shaheed 129 and appeared to have been operated by “pro-regime” forces.

There are concerns that further confrontations could lead to a breakout of hostilities that would hinder the battle against IS.

Australia on Tuesday suspended its airstrikes against IS targets in Syria as a precaution, after Russia announced it was suspending the hotline and warned the U.S.-led coalition not to fly over Syrian army positions west of the Euphrates River.

In another first, Iran — another close Assad ally — fired ballistic missiles at IS targets in eastern Syria, in the province of Deir el-Zour, later on Sunday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard described the strike as revenge for Islamic State attacks on Tehran earlier this month that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50.

A spokesman for the Guard, Gen. Ramazan Sharif, said all six ballistic missiles hit their targets, citing “local sources” and drone footage.

Sharif told The Associated Press that the missile launch reflected Iran’s “military power,” though Iran has no intention of starting another war. It is still unclear what the missiles struck, and Iran has provided few details.

Israeli security officials said Monday they were studying the missile strike to see what they could learn about its accuracy and capabilities.

The U.S. military meanwhile confirmed Tuesday that top IS cleric Turki al-Binali was killed in a coalition airstrike on May 31, in Mayadeen, Syria. The Bahraini cleric wrote religious justifications for the enslavement of hundreds of women from Iraq’s Yazidi minority and helped establish the IS branch in Libya.

Activists and IS supporters reported his death at the time but Tuesday’s statement from Central Command was the first U.S. confirmation.

Fighting and bombardment meanwhile resumed early Tuesday between Syrian government forces and rebels in the southern city of Daraa and nearby areas, where a 48-hour truce had gone into effect on Saturday. The truce was meant to be extended but now appears to have collapsed.

A Syrian military official in Damascus said the truce was not extended. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

“The situation is back as it was in Daraa city and fighting is ongoing,” said Daraa-based opposition activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh. “The regime made the truce and then violated it.”

The activist-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that government troops captured a hill west of the city and a former army base that was held by rebels. It said government helicopters dropped 55 barrel bombs on Daraa while warplanes carried out about 20 airstrikes.

Daraa is where the March 2011 uprising against the Assad family’s four-decade rule began. The conflict quickly descended into a civil war, which has since left at least 400,000 people dead.

The push by Syrian government forces in the Daraa area appears headed for the Jordanian border, two weeks after Assad’s troops reached the border with Iraq for the first time in years. </s> Earlier in the day, BuzzFeed News reported that a US-led coalition spokesperson has confirmed that coalition strikes in southern Syria struck Syrian government armed forces.

The coalition strikes reportedly occurred near At Tanf town, where US’ and British special operations forces have been training Syrian rebel fighters near the border with Iraq and Jordan.

“The strike did happen. It was against a pro-regime force operating in the vicinity of At Tanf. This regime force was operating within a well-established de-confliction zone,” the defense official told Sputnik.

The US defense official added that the US coalition commander considered the pro-Assad forces as a threat to coalition troops.

“The commander on the ground perceived this force to be a threat to coalition forces,” the defense official said.

It is unclear yet whether the strikes have killed any soldiers or pro-government militia fighters as there has been no official comment from Damascus so far.

The US-led coalition said that the agreement on a de-confliction zone with Russia remains in effect despite the strike on Syrian army.

The United States and Russia signed the bilateral memorandum of understanding in October 2015 to ensure their flight safety during combat missions over Syria.

On Monday, Al-Masdr News reported that Syrian Arab Army soldiers along and militias affiliated with the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units are preparing to recapture the nearby Tanf Border crossing from Daesh.

Media reports suggested that Syrian rebels have voiced concerns over the Syrian army getting “too close” to the US Special Forces’ base in At Tanf.

In April, Daesh terrorists attempted to take the US base near At Tanf in which three US-backed Syrian rebels were killed.

This was not the first time the US-led coalition intentionally or accidentally struck the Syrian army fighting against Daesh. In the early hours of April 7, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers from the city of Homs. Moreover, on September 17, 2016, US-led coalition aircraft carried out four strikes against the Syrian army near the Deir ez-Zor airport, killing 62 soldiers and wounding some 100. </s> A drone suspected of belonging to forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad's regime fired on coalition troops in southeastern Syria before they shot it down, an official said Thursday.

No coalition forces were hurt in the exchanges with the drone, coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told Pentagon reporters in a video-conference from Baghdad.

Dillon said the troops also fired at two pro-regime vehicles that were "assessed to be a threat" near At-Tanf in Syria.

The incident was the third between pro-regime forces and the coalition near At-Tanf since mid-May.
Shortly after bombing Syrian government and allied troops near Al-Tanf, the United States shot down an Iranian-made Syrian government drone that was flying toward U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Syria. There are no injuries or damage. An American official says this is first time forces supporting Damascus have attacked coalition troops.