US official: US troops injured in interaction with Russian forces in Syria

The White House has confirmed that US service members sustained injuries following an altercation involving its troops and Russian forces in north-eastern Syria on Tuesday.

According to Politico which first broke the news yesterday, four US troops were diagnosed with mild concussion-like symptoms after the encounter near Dayrick, which is close to the Iraqi and Turkish borders.

National Security Council spokesperson John Ullyot later confirmed that the skirmish took place by explaining that a Russian vehicle struck a “Coalition mine-resistant ambush protected all-terrain vehicle (M-ATV) causing injuries to the vehicles’ crew.”

“To de-escalate the situation, the Coalition patrol departed the area. Unsafe and unprofessional actions like this represent a breach of de-confliction protocols, committed to by the United States and Russia in December 2019.”

Insane video filmed by Russian troops in Syria while charging at and chasing US armoured vehicles pic.twitter.com/wmOIXVDsYE

— Mohamed Yehia (@yeh1a) August 27, 2020

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Videos have emerged online showing the alleged incident and showing Russian military vehicles ramming American armoured vehicles that were trying to overtake them. At the same time, Russian military helicopters are seen flying low over US forces.

The incident is the latest reported case of clashes between US and Russian troops in a contested part of the country with previous reported clashes including a fist-fight last year. The New York Times reported that the Pentagon declined to comment and referred all questions to the White House in a sign that the Defence Department did not want to focus attention on tensions with Moscow during the Republican convention in which President Donald Trump will make the case for his re-election in November’s US elections.

READ: Russia, Turkey, Iran reaffirm Syria’s territorial integrity