WASHINGTON – A US drone strike killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria hours after the same MQ-9 Reaper drones they were harassed by russian military planes over the western part of the country, according to the Defense Department.
Three Reapers had been flying overhead looking for the militant on Friday, a US defense official said, when they were harassed for about two hours by Russian planes. Soon after, the drones struck and killed Usamah al-Muhajir, who was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo region, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of the operation. military. .
The official said al-Muhajir was in northwestern Syria at the time of the attack, but usually operated in the east.
It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed that the person killed was al-Muhajir; No other details were provided.
In a statement on Sunday, the US Central Command said there is no indication that any civilians were killed in the attack. The army was evaluating reports that a civilian may have been injured.
Friday marked the third day in a row that US officials complained that Russian warplanes in the region had made unsafe and harassing flights around US drones.
Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the head of the US Air Force Central Command, said in a statement that during Friday’s encounter, the Russian jets “flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.
The first friction occurred on Wednesday morning when a Russian military aircraft “engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behaviour” as three US MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against Islamic State, the US military said. On Thursday, the The US military said Russian warplanes flew “incredibly unsafe and unprofessional” against French and American planes over Syria.
Colonel Michael Andrews, a spokesman for the Air Force Central Command, said Thursday’s incident lasted nearly an hour and included close flybys of an SU-34 and an SU-35 and that they deployed flares directly at the MQ-9.
US officials said the drones were not armed on the previous flights, but were carrying weapons on Friday as they were hunting al-Muhajir.
“We have made it clear that we remain committed to defeating ISIS throughout the region,” General Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, said in the statement.
Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said last week that the Russian and Syrian armies had begun a six-day joint training that ends on Monday.
Gurinov added in comments carried by Syrian state media that Moscow was concerned about the US-led coalition’s drone flights over northern Syria, calling them “systematic violations of protocols” designed to prevent clashes between the two militaries.
