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Syria accuses U.S. of supporting IS after striking Syrian army positions in Deir al-Zour

Xinhua, September 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Syria's Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused the U.S. of supporting the Islamic State (IS) group, after a U.S.-led airstrike killed 62 Syrian soldiers in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.

"This cowered American act is an unequivocal evidence on the U.S. support to the IS," said the ministry.

The U.S. airstrike was followed by an attack by the IS on Syrian military positions in the al-Tharda Mountain in Deir al-Zour.

The IS managed to take over the al-Tharda Mountain, before the Syrian army backed by Russian warplanes successfully recaptured all fallen sites in al-Tharda.

Meanwhile, Syria's al-Ekhbarya TV said the Syrian air force was planning an operation on the IS-held areas that would help retaking Deir al-Zour city, where 50,000 civilians have been besieged by the IS since 2014.

The plan aimed at opening a road between Deir al-Zour and Palmyra in central Syria, but the U.S.-led airstrikes thwarted the plan and enabled the IS to advance.

The airstrike marked the first U.S. attack on a Syrian military position since the coalition started pounding terror groups' positions in Syria in 2014. Endit