At dawn on September 18, Syrian time, US warplanes repeatedly hit the Syrian army positions in the vicinity of Deir-Ezzor. There is talk of more than 100 deaths. Immediate reaction from the government of Damascus and Moscow which asked, through its ambassador to the United Nations, for an immediate meeting of the Security Council.
Officially, the Pentagon admits the mistake, claiming to have exchanged Syrian posts for ISIS.
Mistaken or deliberate, the raid (conducted by F-16 and A-10) would target the locations around the city on the Euphrates, besieged for years by the militias of the Islamic State. Over the last few weeks, the 137a Damascus Army Brigade and the 104a Republican Guard paratroopers had made important progress, resisting in the industrial district to the human waves of the Caliphate and advancing on the reliefs of the Jabal Thardeh that dominate the islands on the river.
The American bombardment would have little effect on the possible extension of the ceasefire and on the possible developments of the peace talks in Geneva.
(photo: AMN)
