Sydney, SANA – Australia acknowledged that its aircrafts participated alongside the US alliance aircrafts in the aggression that targeted Syrian Arab Army positions in Deir Ezzor.

The Australian Department of Defense said in a statement on Sunday that it will cooperate fully with the review of the incident by the alliance, asserting that while Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit, nor would it provide support for ISIS, offering condolences to the families of the victims of the attack.

The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces had reported that US alliance aircrafts targeted at 5 PM on Saturday a Syrian Arab Army position in al-Tharda Mountain in the surroundings of Deir Ezzor Airport, causing losses in lives and equipment.

The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry sent two letters to the UN Secretary-General and the head of the Security Council in which it said that the US aggression was premeditated and paved the way for ISIS to seize the position.

Hazem Sabbagh </s> The Australian Department of Defence has offered its condolences to the families of Syrian soldiers killed or wounded in a U.S.-led bombing campaign on Saturday, in which Australia participated and Russia said hit Syrian military personnel and vehicles.

Australian aircraft were among the warplanes that struck what were believed to be Islamic State fighting positions around Deir al-Zor in Eastern Syria.

However, shortly after the bombing started Russian officials advised the multinational Combined Air Operations Centre that the targets may have been Syrian military personnel.

The Australian Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that it would fully cooperate with a Coalition review of the incident.

“While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (also known as ISIL),” the ministry said in a statement.

“Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident,” the ministry said on Sunday. </s> SYDNEY, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Australian Department of Defence has offered its condolences to the families of Syrian soldiers killed or wounded in a U.S.-led bombing campaign on Saturday, in which Australia participated and Russia said hit Syrian military personnel and vehicles.

Australian aircraft were among the warplanes that struck what were believed to be Islamic State fighting positions around Deir al-Zor in Eastern Syria.

However, shortly after the bombing started Russian officials advised the multinational Combined Air Operations Centre that the targets may have been Syrian military personnel.

The Australian Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that it would fully cooperate with a Coalition review of the incident.

"While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (also known as ISIL)," the ministry said in a statement.

"Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident," the ministry said on Sunday. (Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Eric Meijer) </s> Australian Defence aircraft were part of a bombing raid in Syria that may have hit that country's military instead of Islamic State targets.

Officials have offered condolences to the families of Syrian soldiers who may have been killed during a bombing raid on what was believed to be Islamic State targets.

Australian aircraft were among a group of international planes taking part in an operation near Dayr Az Zawr when Russian officials advised the targets may have been Syrian military personnel, a statement said on Sunday.

'While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (also known as ISIL),' a defence spokesperson said.

The Syrian military said the airstrike hit a base in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour that is surrounded by ISIS, allowing the extremists to advance.

The apparently errant strike could deal a blow to a fragile US and Russian-brokered cease-fire that has largely held for five days despite dozens of alleged violations on both sides.

The Syrian military said the airstrikes enabled an ISIS advance on a hill overlooking the air base.

A Russian Defense Ministry official said Syria informed them that 62 of its soldiers were killed in the airstrike.

Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the airstrike near Deir el-Zour airport was conducted by two F-16s and two A-10s.

He did not identify the planes' country affiliation, but said they were part of the international coalition.

Konashenkov said Syrian authorities reported another 100 wounded. The planes came from the direction of the Iraqi border. </s> Australia has said its warplanes took part in US-led air strikes in eastern Syria that mistakenly killed Syrian army troops in an incident threatening to wreck an already tenuous ceasefire before it is a week old.

Russia’s military said it was told by the Syrian army that at least 62 soldiers were killed in the attack on a government position near Deir ez-Zour, with more than 100 wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 90 soldiers were killed.

The first air strikes on Aleppo since the ceasefire began last Monday evening were reported on Sunday.

An Australian defence department statement said its jets had targeted fighters they thought to be members of Islamic State, the jihadist faction also known as Isis.

“Overnight, coalition aircraft were conducting air strikes in eastern Syria against what was believed to be a Daesh [Islamic State] fighting position that the coalition had been tracking for some time,” the statement said.

“However, shortly after the bombing commenced, Russian officials advised the Combined Air Operations Centre that the targets may have been Syrian military personnel.

“While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support [Islamic State],” it said, offering condolences to the families of the dead and pledging to co-operate with a US inquiry.

The US has also offered condolences and insisted the air strikes were a mistake. It said it had targeted Tharda mountain where a Syrian government offensive was seeking to capture Islamic State positions overlooking the Deir ez-Zour military airport.

Damascus claimed it had succeeded in taking Tharda despite the US bombing, and rejected Washington’s insistence that it hit Syrian troops in error. A foreign ministry statement said Syrian positions had been repeatedly attacked in strikes that were “on purpose and planned in advance”.

Russia warned that the incident puts a “very big question mark” over the future of a precarious ceasefire agreed by Washington and Moscow, and a strongly worded foreign ministry statement on Sunday said the strikes were “on the boundary between criminal negligence and direct connivance with Islamic State terrorists”.

It said the incident was a result of Washington’s “stubborn refusal” to co-operate with Moscow in fighting Isis, the al-Nusra Front – now renamed Jabhat Fateh al Sham – and “other terrorist groups”. </s> Australian jets involved in US-led air strike which killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, Defence confirms

Updated

Australian aircraft were involved in a US-led coalition operation which killed dozens of Syrian soldiers who were apparently mistaken for Islamic State fighters, the Defence Department has confirmed.

Key points: Dozens of Syrian soldiers dead in US-led strike

Defence Department says Australian jets were involved but would never intentionally target Syrian military

UN Security Council holds emergency meeting at Russia's request, US criticises "grandstanding"

Between 62 and 83 Syrian soldiers who had been fighting IS militants were reportedly killed in the air strikes around the Deir al-Zor military airport in Syria's east.

"Australian aircraft were among a number of international aircraft taking part in this Coalition operation," the Defence Department said in a statement.

"Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (IS). Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident."

The Russian military earlier said two F-16s and two A-10 jets that flew into Syrian airspace from neighbouring Iraq carried out the actual attack. Neither type is listed as being in operation with the RAAF.

The strikes came less than a week into a fragile ceasefire aimed at stopping the bloodshed in Syria's five-year civil war, as Russia accused what it termed "moderate rebels" of causing the truce to fail.

'Russia needs to stop cheap point-scoring': US

The US military and Australia's Defence Department said the attack was called off after Russia informed the coalition that Syrian military personnel and vehicles may have been hit.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in an emailed statement that Russian officials did not voice concerns earlier on Saturday when informed that coalition aircraft would be operating in the strike area.

The 15-member United Nations Security Council met after Russia demanded an emergency session to discuss the incident and accused the US-led coalition of jeopardising the Syria deal and helping Islamic State.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, chastised Russia for the move.

"Russia really needs to stop the cheap point-scoring and the grandstanding and the stunts and focus on what matters, which is implementation of something we negotiated in good faith with them," Ms Power said.

When asked if the incident spelled the end of the Syria deal between Moscow and Washington, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said: "This is a very big question mark."

"I would be very interested to see how Washington is going to react. If what Ambassador Power has done today (Sunday) is any indication of their possible reaction then we are in serious trouble," Mr Churkin said.

Russia says attack helped Islamic State

Russia said the attacks, which allowed Islamic State fighters to briefly overrun a Syrian army position near Deir al-Zor, were evidence that the US was helping the jihadist militants.

"We are reaching a really terrifying conclusion for the whole world —that the White House is defending Islamic State. Now there can be no doubts about that," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

"Warplanes from the international anti-jihadist coalition carried out four air strikes today (Sunday) against Syrian forces surrounded by IS in the Deir Ezzor air base," a Russian army statement said.

"Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and a hundred others were injured in these strikes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group gave a toll of 83 soldiers killed, and said the strikes were US-led coalition raids.

Military airport has been scene of fierce fighting



Coordination between the US, which backs some Syrian rebels, and the Russian military, which backs the Syrian government, is a controversial issue.

Russia has long insisted on it and, if the ceasefire brokered by the two nations holds, the two nations are supposed to start coordinating attacks on Islamic State.

Russia says the incident is evidence the US has stubbornly refused to coordinate so far.

But the US says the coalition did inform Russia of the forthcoming strike.

Syria's army has been fighting off a fierce Islamic State offensive around the Deir al-Zor airport since last year.

The IS-linked Amaq news agency said coalition strikes also hit Islamic State positions around the airport, while there were also reports of Russian planes bombing Islamic State targets..

Situation worsening, says Russian general

Russian military officials meanwhile lashed out at both the United States and mainstream rebels over the ceasefire struck last week in Geneva.

"The situation in Syria is worsening," said Russian General Vladimir Savchenko in a briefing.

The ceasefire has so far lasted five days.

Under the US-Russia deal, if the truce lasts seven days and humanitarian access is granted, Moscow and Washington are to work together to target jihadists including IS.

"Russia is exerting all possible effort to restrain (Syrian) government troops from returning fire," Senior Army General Viktor Poznikhir said.

"If the American side does not take the necessary measures to carry out its obligations... a breakdown of the ceasefire will be on the United States."

In a statement, the Russian defence ministry accused what it termed "moderate rebels" of causing the ceasefire to fail.

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, territorial-disputes, syrian-arab-republic

First posted </s> Russian long-range bombers have destroyed two Islamic State command centers, along with weapons and ammunition depots in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province - the latest in a series of strikes against the jihadists in the area, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced."On January 30, six Tu-22M3 long-range bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces took off from an airfield located in the territory of the Russian Federation, flew over territories of Iraq and Iran, and carried out an airstrike on ISIS terrorists' targets in the Deir ez-Zor province of the Syrian Arab Republic," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.The precision strikes targeted and destroyed two Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) command centers, weapons and ammunition depots in addition to jihadist manpower, according to the statement. Sukhoi-30SM and Sukhoi-35S fighter jets from the Khmeimim air base provided protection for the Russian bombers.The strikes against the designated targets were confirmed by "impartial monitoring" means. Upon completion of their mission all Russian planes returned to bases safely, the Defense Ministry said.Following the liberation of Aleppo in December, Syrian government forces are now focusing their efforts in expelling terrorists from the city of Deir ez-Zor, that has been under IS control since July 2014.Most of the city and its countryside is under the IS terrorists' sway, but government troops are still holding out in several neighborhoods in the western part of the city and command the military airport.Deir ez-Zor's military airport, controlled by elite units from the Syrian Republican Guard, has withstood repeated assaults by IS over the years. Last week, IS extremists encircled the military airfield threatening to capture the last line of defense of the Syrian army.Now the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces (NDF), backed by Russian warplanes, have been focusing on repelling a large-scale attack launched by the terrorists in the oil-rich province.Government forces continued to battle terrorist positions on Monday on the southern outskirts of the city, inflicting massive damage, Sana reports . Besides Russian air power, the Syrian air force has also targeted IS positions in the area.The Province of Deir ez-Zor is of strategic importance for IS because it serves as the backbone of the country's petroleum extraction industry. The province also links IS terrorist units to the group's Iraqi capital of Raqqa. </s> Syria’s army general command has said that US-led coalition jets bombed Syrian government forces’ positions near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor

According to Syria’s official news agency SANA, warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition, supposedly fighting ISIS, bombed a Syrian army position at Jebel Tharda near Deir al-Zor military airport at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Saturday.

The air strike killed Syrian soldiers who had been preparing for an attack against ISIS, and was “conclusive evidence” that the U.S. and its allies support the terrorist group, the Syrian army said in a statement

Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the US-led coalition, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said, citing information received from the Syrian General Command.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the aircraft which carried out the bombings had entered Syrian airspace from the territory of Iraq. The airstrike against Syrian positions was performed by two F-16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft, it said.

Even if the bombardment of the Syrian government troops was a mistake, it’s still a consequence of Washington’s unwillingness to coordinate its anti-terror efforts with Moscow, the ministry said.

The Defense Ministry also confirmed a report by SANA that an Islamic State offensive began right after Syrian Army positions were hit from the air.

The actions of the coalition “clearly paved the way for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists to attack the position and take control of it,” the agency said citing the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces.

The General Command has called the bombing a “serious and blatant aggression” against Syrian forces, and said it was “conclusive evidence” that the US and its allies support IS militants.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused the US of being reluctant to take measures to force rebels under its control to fall in line with the terms of the Syrian ceasefire.

Numerous Russian appeals to the American side remain unanswered, which “raises doubts over the US’s ability to influence opposition groups under their control and their willingness to further ensure the implementation of the Geneva agreements,” senior Russian General Staff official, Viktor Poznikhir, said.

Poznikhir also said that the truce is being used by the militants to regroup, resupply and prepare an offensive against government troops. </s> As Syrian Arab Army forces continue to liberate more districts of Deir ez-Zor city, Russian airstrikes have killed over 40 leading ISIS commanders.

Most of the terrorist leaders were eliminated when Russian fighter jets flying sorties over Deir ez-Zor struck an underground command centre which was used by ISIS on the outskirts of the city.

The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed that the strikes killed the leader of ISIS in Deir ez-Zor, the self-proclaimed ’emir’ of the city, Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali. The terrorist kingpin was a Saudi citizen who prior to 2015 was a member of the notorious al-Qaeda in Iraq, before switching allegiance to ISIS.

al-Shimali was wanted for terrorist related crimes by several states, including the US. In addition to being responsible for crimes against humanity in Syria and Iraq, he was widely believed to be the mastermind behind several European based terrorist attacks, including the deadly November 2015 ISIS attacks on Paris.

The statement from the Russian Defence Ministry continued,

“After confirming the information received and conducting additional reconnaissance, two Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Forces were scrambled from the Hmeymim air base, which made a pinpoint strike with bunker busting bombs. The air strike destroyed an underground terrorist command post, a communications centre and about 40 militants of Daesh. According to confirmed information, four influential field commanders were among the destroyed militants, including ‘the sharif of Deir ez-Zor’ Abu Muhammad al-Shimali who was responsible for finance as well as redeployment of new recruits to Daesh training camps”.

Additionally, the strikes have kill the Tajik Gulmurod Khalimov who acted as the self-proclaimed “war minister” of ISIS. Previously Khalimov had been trained by US special forces.

“Before Khalimov’s name was added to the official US list of designated terrorists, he had received extensive training at US military training bases. In 2003, he went to Baton Rouge in Louisiana, to undergo special training with the US Special Forces. He returned to Baton Rouge for another special training course in 2008.Then, from 2003 to 2008, he had special training in America at a Blackwater military base. In April 2015 he vanished from Tajikistan but later resurfaced in a YouTube video saying that he had joined Daesh”.

The entire city of Deir ez-Zor is expected to be shortly liberated from remaining ISIS terrorists.
Australia's Department of Defence acknowledges its participation "among a number of international aircraft" in the Deir ez-Zor air raid. It says it would "never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (ISIS)" and offers its condolences.