Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to explanations of Director of the Kurchatov nuclear and scientific research institute Mikhail Kovalchuk in Moscow's Kremlin, Russia, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to explanations of Director of the Kurchatov nuclear and scientific research institute Mikhail Kovalchuk in Moscow's Kremlin, Russia, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015. Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Russian Strikes Killed Syrian Soldiers, Pentagon Says

Accused of airstrikes on government forces, U.S. officials point the finger at Moscow.

Russian strikes killed Syrian soldiers in eastern Syria, the Pentagon said Monday, responding to reports that coalition aircraft had hit government forces — and bolstering its case that Moscow’s warplanes are dangerously indiscriminate and imprecise in their targeting.

“We're certain it was the Russians who did this today,” a military official said Monday. The assessment is based on radar tracks showing Russian aircraft above Ayyash, a town in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, at the time of the incident, the official explained Tuesday. 

“We maintain exacting procedures and strict protocol to be precise in our strikes," Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Monday afternoon. "We do not have any reason to target the Assad regime or the Syrian army; we are at war only with ISIS.”

Allegations emerged late Sunday from Bashar al-Assad’s government and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that four soldiers had been killed and 13 wounded in a strike near Ayyash.

Col. Steve Warren, spokesman in Baghdad for Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed Monday morning that U.S. warplanes had conducted four strikes in Dayr Az Zawr province, but said they struck oil wells some 55 kilometers southeast of Ayyash, and were not aimed at people or vehicles.

“We have no indication any Syrian soldiers were near our strikes,” Warren said in a statement.  

The Pentagon said Russia had conducted long-range bomber strikes into Syria that same day.

The Obama administration and U.S. military officials have long accused Russia of indiscriminately targeting civilians, moderate Syrian rebels (some trained and equipped by the U.S. government), and other groups that oppose Assad. They say Moscow is primarily focused on propping up the regime, not fulfilling its stated aim of going after the Islamic State.

In October alone, between 255 and 375 non-combatants died in at least 44 Russian strikes, according to a recent report from Airwars, a watchdog group.

“Russia’s strikes against the moderate opposition only bolster the Assad regime, whose brutality has helped to fuel the rise of ISIL,” Obama said in a Nov. 24 press conference with French President Francois Hollande. He called for “active Russian support for a ceasefire and a political transition away from Assad to a democratically elected government that can unite the Syrian people against terrorism.”

By contrast, U.S. officials say, coalition strikes are performed to high standards and precision. (Last week, Warren called the current campaign in Iraq “the most precise air campaign in the history of war.”) U.S. and coalition aircraft often return from missions still laden with weapons they dared not drop for fear of hitting civilians and other non-targets.

“We take significant steps in the targeting process to prevent collateral damage,” Davis said Wednesday.

The U.S. hardly has a perfect record. The military is currently finalizing its investigation of a “mistaken attack” by U.S. forces on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Oct. 3.

But the White House and Pentagon are still pushing back against U.S. politicians and former officials who suggest that U.S. leaders stop “tying the hands of the military” by being too wary of hitting civilians. Critics pointed to a recent mission in which aircraft dropped leaflets warning oil-truck drivers to get away before bombing the 116 trucks.

On Nov. 19, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he’d consider changing the rules of engagement against ISIS.

“We're prepared to do that,” he said. “We've reviewed them the way we review them all the time.”

The Obama administration has maintained a constant refrain of “Assad must go,” while President Obama insists a military ouster is not a sustainable solution. On Sunday night in a rare Oval Office address, Obama sought to reassure the country following the deadliest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, in San Bernardino, Calif., but reaffirmed his strategy against ISIS.

“We should not be drawn once more into a long and costly ground war in Iraq or Syria.  That’s what groups like ISIL want,” Obama said. “But they also know that if we occupy foreign lands, they can maintain insurgencies for years, killing thousands of our troops, draining our resources, and using our presence to draw new recruits.”

This story has been updated.

NEXT STORY: Obama's Dog Whistle on Encryption

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.