US shoots down Iran-made drone in Syria
The rising tension prompts Australia to suspend its air missions over Syria as Russia slams ‘absolutely illegal’ US action
Beirut — A US warplane shot down an Iranian-made drone in southern Syria early on Tuesday, officials said, in the latest incident in rising tensions between the two sides. It comes days after a US warplane shot down a Syrian government fighter jet in the north of the country, prompting a furious reaction from Russia. Moscow has now suspended an incident hotline intended to prevent confrontations in Syria’s crowded air space, and warned it could consider US-led coalition fighter jets and drones as "targets". The rising tensions prompted Australia to announce it was suspending its participation in air missions over Syria as part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. In Tuesday’s incident, the US-led coalition said an F-15E Strike Eagle jet destroyed an armed Shahed-129 drone in the early hours of the morning as it neared the Al-Tanaf base along Syria’s eastern border. "It displayed hostile intent and advanced on coalition forces," the statement said. A US military ...
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