Washington (CNN) The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria conducted air and artillery strikes against pro-regime forces in Syria on Wednesday, killing an estimated 100 pro-regime fighters, according to a coalition statement. The coalition described its action -- which if confirmed could represent the largest number of pro-regime casualties inflicted by the US-led coalition -- as carried out in "self defense." Syrian state news agency SANA described the action as an "aggression" by the coalition against "popular forces" who were fighting ISIS and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. According to a coalition statement, its strikes were carried out after forces allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "initiated an unprovoked attack" against a well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters where coalition advisers were working with US-backed Syrian fighters. Some 500 pro-regime troops carried out the attack using artillery, mortar fire and Russian-made tanks "in what appears to be a coordinated attack on Syrian Democratic Forces," US Army Col. Thomas Veale, a spokesman for the US-led coalition told CNN.

Source: CNN February 07, 2018 23:37 UTC