A US-led coalition has conducted several “defensive” airstrikes against Syrian forces allied with President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, in retaliation for what the coalition said was an “unprovoked” attack on the US-backed left-wing Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) headquarters.

Furthermore, CNN reported late Thursday that US forces are now investigating whether Russian contractors were involved in the initial attack against the SDF, after a US official told the news outlet that the possibility could not be ruled out.

The retaliatory airstrikes are said to have occurred 8km (5 miles) east of the Euphrates River, while no U.S. troops embedded with the local fighters at their headquarters are believed to have been wounded or killed in the attack on the headquarters, reports Reuters.

The US-led coalition did not say whether any pro-Syrian forces were killed in the retaliatory strike.

“Syrian pro-regime forces initiated an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters,” reads a Feb 7 press release from Central Command. “In defense of Coalition and partner forces, the Coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression against partners engaged in the Global Coalition’s defeat-Daesh mission.”

Although no U.S. servicemembers were reportedly involved in the attack on the SDF, the US-led coalition has previously asserted a “non-negotiable right to act in self-defense,” pointing to the fact that coalition service members are embedded with the SDF “partners” on the ground in Syria.

Syrian President Bashara al-Assad has repeatedly stated that the presence of the US-led coalition on Syrian soil is an act of aggression and a violation of Syrian sovereignty. Officially, Russian and Syrian air forces are the only military allowed to operate in Syria – however Syria and Iran are close strategic allies, with the latter providing logistical, technical and financial support to the Syrian government during the ongoing Syrian Civil War.

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