US says Russian aircraft struck its drone with flare over Syria
Incident is latest in a series of recent encounters involving Russian fighter jets and US drones flying over Syria.
The United States has said a Russian fighter jet struck an American drone with a flare over Syria at the weekend, with Washington again accusing Moscow of “unprofessional behaviour” in the skies above the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, US Air Forces Central said a Russian aircraft “flew dangerously close” to a US MQ-9 drone in the early hours of Sunday, “harassing” the drone and “deploying flares from a position overhead”.
In a statement on Tuesday, US Air Forces Central said a Russian aircraft “flew dangerously close” to a US MQ-9 drone in the early hours of Sunday, “harassing” the drone and “deploying flares from a position overhead”.
“One of the Russian flares struck the US MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller. Fortunately, the MQ-9 crew was able to maintain flight and safely recover the aircraft to its home base,” Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, the head of US Air Forces Central, said.
“We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior.”
The incident is the latest in a series of encounters between Russian fighter jets and US drones over Syria...
In Tuesday’s statement, US Air Force Central said the American drone hit by a Russian flare was “on a defeat-ISIS mission”, referring to the ISIL (ISIS) armed group that previously controlled vast swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.
“We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior.”
The incident is the latest in a series of encounters between Russian fighter jets and US drones over Syria...
In Tuesday’s statement, US Air Force Central said the American drone hit by a Russian flare was “on a defeat-ISIS mission”, referring to the ISIL (ISIS) armed group that previously controlled vast swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.
- About 900 US forces are deployed to Syria to work with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIL.
- Russia is the main backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."
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