Syria on Monday accused the United States-led coalition of bombing an army camp in the eastern part of the country, killing three Syrian soldiers and wounding 13, but a senior US military official said the Pentagon is “certain” the strike was from a Russian warplane.
The dispute over the deadly airstrike underscored the increasingly chaotic skies over Syria as various powers hit targets in the war-ravaged country.
The US-led alliance began its airstrikes in Syria in September 2014, while Russia’s air campaign began a year later.
In a letter to the United Nations (UN), the government in Damascus said four aircraft from the coalition targeted the army camp in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour on Sunday night.
In addition to the casualties among the troops, it said the attack destroyed armoured and other vehicles, and a weapons and ammunition depot.
“This hampers efforts to combat terrorism and proves once again that this coalition lacks seriousness and credibility to effectively fight terrorism,” said the letter, which was published in Syrian state media.
The government refers to all those fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad as “terrorists.”
It was the first time Syria has accused the US-led coalition of hitting its troops.
The US denied the claim, saying four alliance airstrikes in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour all hit oil wells about 55 kilometres southeast of where the Syrian government said its camp was struck.
“We did not strike any vehicles or personnel targets in this area. We have no indication any Syrian soldiers were even near our strikes,” the coalition statement said, adding that it takes allegations of potential collateral damage seriously and investigates them.
Moreover, a US military official said Washington was “certain” it was a Russian airstrike that hit the camp.
US officials cited coalition surveillance and other data they said showed that Russian aircraft launched airstrikes near the Syrian army camp.
One senior official said the Russian aircraft was in the air around 9pm Sunday near the city of Deir el-Zour, whereas the coalition aircraft were flying an hour earlier about 55 kilometers away.
A senior US official said radar tracked a dozen Russian TU-22 bombers that left Mozdok, Russia, traveled over the Caspian Sea, across portions of Iran and Iraq, and launched airstrikes in Raqqa, Deir el-Zour and Al Bukamal, Syria.
Radar shows Russian bombers making seven passes over the city of Deir el-Zour dropping munitions, the official said, adding that one of the TU-22s made a pass over the area of the army camp within one minute of the explosion that killed the Syrian troops.