Russia has denied accusations it bombed US-backed fighters in Syria, saying the US military received advance warning of an air strike targeting ISIL members.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said six of its members were wounded during the Russian-backed Syrian government offensive on Saturday in Syria’s northeastern Deir Az Zor province.
The Pentagon on Saturday accused the Russians of deliberately targeting SDF soldiers and coalition advisers.
Major-General Igor Konashenkov, chief spokesman for the Russian ministry of defence, dismissed the claims, saying Russia attacked only Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) targets based on multiple-source intelligence of their locations.
“Russian air forces carry out pinpoint strikes only on IS targets that have been observed and confirmed through several channels,” state news agency TASS quoted Konashenkov as saying on Sunday.
