New commander of US forces in Syria issues warning to Russia
The new Commander of the US forces in Syria and Iraq, General Steve Townsend, has warned Moscow and Damascus that the US will protect its special forces in northern Syria if artillery attacks are carried out on areas where their forces are located.
“We have informed Russian servicemen of where we are. Russians have also told us that they have informed the Syrian side of this. I want to emphasize that we will defend ourselves if we feel a threat,” CNN quoted Townsend as saying.
CNN also reported that Townsend said that the so-called Islamic State terrorist organization can be destroyed in the next year. He did however admit that these plans may sound too ambitious.
On Saturday, a US aircraft intercepted two Syrian fighter jets in the north-east area of the country and forced them to leave the region. The Pentagon explained that the Special Forces of the International Coalition led by the US were near Al-Hasakah, which is where the Syrian Air Force shelled the positions of Kurds. Townsend became the first US Commander who issued a warning to Moscow and Damascus after this incident.
A representative of the Pentagon, Jeff Davis, made a similar statement after the incident with the Syrian Su-24. He stated that the US will apply the right to defend if Bashar Al-Assad’s troops bombard the locations near US servicemen.