The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—The U.S. military said Tuesday that it attacked allies of the Syrian regime for the second time in three weeks after they ignored repeated warnings to move away from a base in southern Syria used by American forces.
The strike represents an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military, which hadn’t been a focus of American airstrikes until recently.
On Tuesday, the military said that it hit allies of Mr. Assad that refused to leave an informal 30-mile de-escalation zone around the base in al-Tanf, a town in southern Syria along the Jordan border.
On May 18, the U.S.-led coalition hit the pro-regime forces as they advanced toward al-Tanf, where U.S. special operations forces provide training and support for Syrian militants.
Since then, U.S. military officials said, the forces have refused to leave the de-escalation zone and increased their forces right outside the border.
Last week, the U.S. military used its deconfliction line with Russia to urge the forces to back down, but they refused. The fighters said they were there to battle Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the military said last week.
Instead, the U.S. military said, more than 60 pro-Syrian regime forces entered the area with a tank, artillery and antiaircraft weapons that posed a threat to U.S. forces and their allies.
The latest strike destroyed two artillery pieces and an antiaircraft weapon, the military said. It also damaged the tank.
“The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime or pro-regime forces but remains ready to defend themselves if pro-regime forces refuse to vacate the deconfliction zone,” the military said. “The Coalition calls on all parties in southern Syria to focus their efforts on the defeat of ISIS, which is our common enemy and the greatest threat to regional and worldwide peace and security.”