SYRIAN SATE MEDIA ACCUSES US-LED COALITION OF STRIKING GOVERNMENT POSITIONS NEAR AL-BUKAMAL: MULTIPLE CASUALTIES REPORTED

FILE IMAGE: REUTERS/USAF/Tech. Sgt. Taylor Worley/Handout via Reuters

Early on June 18, the Syrian state-run news agecny SANA accused the US-led coalition of striking government forces’ position near the Syrian border town of al-Bukamal.

According to the SANA’s report citing a military sources, US-led coalition warplanes carried out strikes on a position in the village of al-Hiri, located southeast of al-Bukamal.

“The new aggression comes three days after that the Syrian army liberated an area extending from the road of Haqel al-Wared (field of roses), al-M’aezleh and al-Tammah, to Ibn Muwain’e with 40 km-long axis and combed an area estimated at 2000 square kilometers in al-Mayadeen western Badiya.

The coalition has been targeting the military positions in a desperate attempt to raise the collapsed morale of the terrorist organizations due to the achievements of the Syrian army.

The field reports confirm that Washington provides Daesh organization with various kinds of support to prevent its collapse and invest it to keep its forces illegally in the Syrian territory and steal the economic resources in the eastern region through its mercenaries of terrorist groups,” the SANA added.

In turn, the US-led coalition denined the SANA’s claims and said that neither US forces nor the US-led coalition were behind the reported attack.

Various pro-government sources provided different info on the alleged casualties among pro-goverment forces as a result of the strikes. According to different versions from over 30 to up to 95 pro-government fighters were killed.

Last month, firs reports appeared that the US-led coalition established a military facility in the area of al-Omar oil fields, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, in the province of Deir Ezzor.

However, the US-led coalition’s claims remain in question because pro-government forces released a video showing results of the strikes on the area (18+):

Some Syrian experts link the recent tensions between the Damascus government and the US-led coalition with attempts by Washington to establish control of the western bank of the Euphrates, currently controlled by the government.

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