Syrian army confirms US strike on military unit

The Syrian army confirmed that US-led airstrike struck Syrian military unit near the Iraqi borders on Tuesday.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Syrian army said the warplanes of the US-led anti-terror coalition struck a Syrian military position near Tanf border crossing with Iraq, leaving a number of "martyrs" and other losses, Xinhua reported.

The airstrike struck the military position in the Shaimeh area near Tanf in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria.

"This aggression comes once again to stress the supportive role of terrorism by the forces which claim otherwise, and at the time when the Syrian army is making progress against the terrorist group of the Islamic State organisation," the military statement said.

The statement warned of the risks of such escalation and its reverberations, urging the US-led coalition to curb such acts.

It stressed the Syrian army's resolve and determination to carry on with fighting the terrorist groups on all Syrian territory.

The strike is the second to hit a Syrian military unit near Tanf, where the US and Britain have military bases.

On May 18, the US air force struck a convoy of pro-government fighters advancing in the desert near the Tanf border crossing with Iraq.

At the time, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said America's role in Syria's conflict was unchanged, after the strikes.

"No. We are not increasing our role in the Syrian civil war. But we will defend our troops," Mattis said, when asked about the first strikes.

This comes as the Syrian army unleashed a wide-scale offensive in the Syrian desert dubbed the Great Dawn to secure a triangle of border areas between Iraq, Syria and Jordan.

In the process, the army must advance to Tanf, where the Western allies have bases and local rebels they are backing.

--IANS

ahm/