On June 16th, American F-18s launched from a carrier in the Med, tried and failed to stop Russian jets from bombing US-backed forces fighting the Islamic State in Syria.
It seems Russian SU-34 Fullback bombers struck American backed forces garrisoned on Syrian side of the Jordanian border. The US Navy immediately launched F-18 hornet air defense aircraft and the Russian bombers left the area. The American pilots communicated directly with the Russian aircraft. However, as soon as the American planes left to refuel, the Russian jets returned and bombed the facility again, killing more first responders on the ground. The Obama administration expressed ‘great concern’ over the incident.
“Department officials expressed strong concerns about the attack on the coalition-supported counter-ISIL forces at the At Tanf garrison, which included forces that are participants in the cessation of hostilities in Syria, and emphasized that those concerns would be addressed through ongoing diplomatic discussions on the cessation of hostilities,” Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook explained in a statement, reported The Daily Beast.
“Regarding safety, department officials conveyed that Russia’s continued strikes at At Tanf, even after U.S. attempts to inform Russian forces through proper channels of on-going coalition air support to the counter-ISIL forces, created safety concerns for U.S. and coalition forces,” Cook continued. “Department officials requested Russian responses to address those concerns.”
