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Britain says participated in coalition air strike killing dozens of Syrian soldiers

Xinhua, September 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Britain's Defense Ministry on Monday confirmed that it participated in coalition airstrike over the weekend that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers but stressed it would never intentionally target Syrian military units.

A Defense Ministry spokesman said: "We can confirm that the UK participated in the recent coalition air strike in Syria, south of Deir al-Zour on Saturday and we are fully co-operating with the coalition investigation."

It came after a video emerged showing an Islamic State (IS) fighter proudly standing on the corpse of a Syrian soldier who was killed in Saturday's U.S.-led coalition air strike.

The IS claimed that the raid in Deir al-Zour allowed it to take over a strategic mountain overlooking the city.

The U.S. military has said it may have unintentionally struck Syrian troops while carrying out a raid against IS on Saturday.

The U.S. military said it halted an air raid intended for IS in eastern Syria after being told by Russia that it might have struck Syrian government forces. A senior Obama administration official also said the United States relayed regret through Russia for the unintentional loss of life.

The strike has threatened an already fragile U.S.- and Russia-brokered ceasefire that has largely held despite dozens of alleged violations on both sides.

The Syrian army said Saturday that the U.S.-led coalition hit a Syrian military position in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour at al-Tharda mountain, killing more than 60 soldiers, reports said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group cited a military source at Deir al-Zor airport as saying that at least 80 Syrian soldiers had been killed in the strike.

The Syrian military said the attack facilitated a subsequent takeover of that position by IS, claiming that it proved the United States was supporting the extremist group.

The base was surrounded by IS militants and their advance could potentially dealing a major blow to a shaky ceasefire that took effect Monday last week. The ceasefire does not apply to attacks on IS groups. Endit