As a delicate ceasefire appeared to be holding, the Syrian military claimed an airstrike Saturday by the US-led coalition hit a regime military position in eastern Syria.
The US military said an airstrike may have struck Syrian soldiers, but the coalition thought it was hitting ISIS militants. A statement from US Central Command said the coalition conferred with the Russian military before the strike.
“The coalition airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military,” CENTCOM said.
The Russian military said 62 Syrian soldiers were killed near Deir Ezzor Airport, according to the state-run Sputnik News Agency. It quoted Russian Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov as saying two F-16s and two A-10s carried out four strikes.
A US official told they broadly described the geographic area to the Russians before the strike but did not give a precise location. The coalition thought it was going after an ISIS tank position.
