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 on Thursday. In reports that appeared to confirm the official’s comments, Syrian state media said the US-led coalition against Islamic State had bombed pro-government forces east of the Euphrates river in Deir al-Zor province. Some US troops had been embedded at the time with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose headquarters in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province had been a target of the attack. “We suspect Syrian pro-regime forces were attempting to seize terrain SDF had liberated from Daesh in September 2017,” the official said. Syrian state media said on Thursday the US-led coalition had bombed “popular forces fighting (Islamic State) and the (Syrian Democratic Forces) east of the Euphrates river” in Deir al-Zor, causing casualties.

Source: Egypt Independent February 08, 2018 10:07 UTC