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Syria soldier killed as 2 US helicopters attack army checkpoint, state media

August 17, 2020 at 11:54 am

A US military vehicle drives near a checkpoint controlled by the Syrian government forces in Syria’s northeastern city of Qamishli on October 26, 2019 [DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images]

Two US helicopters today attacked a Syrian army checkpoint in northeastern Syria near the Kurdish-held city of Qamishli, killing one soldier and injuring two others, Reuters reported state media saying.

The incident happened shortly after a US patrol was prevented from passing by an army checkpoint in the area, state media said.

Northeastern Syria is mainly under the control of US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are spearheaded by Kurdish fighters, but Syrian army forces are deployed in certain locations under agreements with the Kurds.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than ten million displaced, according to UN estimates.

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