BEIRUT, November 9. /TASS/. Syrian army troops are engaged in a shootout with US servicemen east of the city of Deir ez-Zor, some 420 km away from the capital Damascus, the Al Mayadeen television reported.
According to the report, the sides are using large-caliber machine guns, mortars and artillery cannons.
The clash near the Euphrates river broke out following the US air force’s attack on eastern districts of Deir ez-Zor. Kurdish units from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are taking part, fighting on the US side.
Syrian troops and militia units opened fire at their adversary’s positions on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in response to a US air strike on a facility, allegedly used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated Shia groups. AFP reported that at least ten people were killed as a result.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement earlier in the day that the strike was conducted by two F-15 fighter jets of the United States and targeted a weapons storage facility.