Coalition repels pro-Assad forces

At least 100 fighters killed in offensive thought to have been carried out in attempt to seize oilfields

MORE than 100 fighters aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed overnight when US coalition and coalition-backed local forces repelled their attack in eastern Syria, a US official said yesterday.

The heavy death toll underscored the large size of the attack, which the US official said included about 500 opposing forces, backed by artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars.

In reports that appeared to confirm the official’s comments, Syrian state media said the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS) had bombed pro-government forces east of the Euphrates River in the Deir al-Zor province. One of the state TV outlets reported “dozens of dead and wounded”.

No US troops were killed or wounded in the incident, officials said.

Some of the American forces which were embedded at the time with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province had been a target of the attack. One SDF fighter was wounded, the official said.

“We suspect Syrian pro-regime forces were attempting to seize terrain SDF had liberated from Daesh in September 2017,” the official added.

The forces were “likely seeking to seize oilfields in Khusham that had been a major source of revenue for Daesh from 2014 to 2017”.

Neither US officials, nor the US-backed coalition, have offered details on the identity of attacking forces. The Syrian army is supported by Iranian-backed militias and Russian forces.

Syrian state media said yesterday the US-led coalition had bombed “popular forces fighting (IS) and the (SDF) east of the Euphrates River” in Deir al-Zor, causing casualties. Statements carried by Syrian TV stations called it a “new aggression” and “an attempt to support terrorism”.

A reporter for the state TV station Ikhbariya said there were “dozens of dead and wounded” as a result of the attacks and described the groups it said had been bombed by the US-led coalition as “local people fighting (IS) and the SDF”.

The US-led coalition had alerted Russian officials about the presence of SDF forces in the area far in advance of the thwarted attack, the US official said.

“Coalition officials were in regular communication with Russian counterparts before, during and after the thwarted (enemy) attack,” the official said.

The coalition said the attack occurred about 8km “east of the Euphrates River deconfliction line in Khusham”, a town south-east of Deir al-Zor city.