A military source on the Syrian government side said on Friday that a U.S. air strike against a Damascus-backed militia the day before hit “one of our military points”, without elaborating, state media outlets reported. The U.S. military carried out the strike on the militia as they headed towards the al-Tanf military base in southern Syria – near the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border – used by U.S. and U.S.-backed rebel forces. A member of the U.S.-backed Syrian rebel forces told Reuters the convoy comprised Syrian and Iranian-backed militias and was headed toward the Tanf base when they clashed with some rebel forces. Syria’s ally Russia said on Friday that the strike had hit civilians and was unacceptable, Russian news agencies reported. Separately, Syria’s military supported by Russia and Iranian-backed militias are fighting against the jihadist group, and against more moderate rebel factions in the south.

Source: Egypt Independent May 19, 2017 08:48 UTC