Russia to Treat U.S.-Led Planes As ‘Targets’ After U.S. Shoots Down Syrian Jet

ashley.rae | June 19, 2017
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Russia has said it will treat United States planes in Syria as “targets” after an American warplane shot down a Syrian fighter jet on Sunday.

According to a Pentagon statement reported in the Washington Post, the American attack on the Syrian jet came after supporters of the Syrian regime attacked the town of Ja’Din, which was controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

This is the first time the United States has escalated the fight in Syria by shooting down a jet. 

The Guardian reports the Syrian army issued a statement, saying the “flagrant attack was an attempt to undermine the efforts of the army as the only effective force capable with its allies … in fighting terrorism across its territory.”

It continues, “This comes at a time when the Syrian army and its allies were making clear advances in fighting the [Islamic State] terrorist group.”

The Washington Post adds the Syrian military issued a statement claiming there is “coordination between the US and ISIS.”

The statement said, “The attack stresses coordination between the US and ISIS, and it reveals the evil intentions of the US in administrating terrorism and investing it to pass the US-Zionist project in the region.”

The Russian Defense Ministry called the attack a “massive violation of international law.”

The Russian Defense Ministry also said, “Repeated combat actions by U.S. aviation under the cover of counterterrorism against lawful armed forces of a country that is a member of the U.N. are a massive violation of international law and de facto a military aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic.”

The Ministry stated U.S.-led coalition aircrafts flying west of the Euphrates river “will be tracked by the Russian ground and air anti-aircraft defense systems as air targets in the areas where Russian aviation is on combat missions in the Syrian sky.”

The Russian Embassy in the U.K. added, “Americans forget whose country they are in.”

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