US forces may well have attacked (or counter-attacked) Syrian government or Iranian militia units while supporting operations by America’s Syrian Kurdish allies. The possible US attack on Syrian government and/or allied units may well have been inadvertent. But the events go to show that involvement in a chaotic situation leads to chaotic outcomes.
from the Warzone article:
“On Monday, the Pentagon’s top spokesman was asked if the SDF was preparing ‘to launch an operation in seven villages controlled by al-Assad regime near Conoco oil field.’”
Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder responded: “So as I’m sure you can appreciate, we are in contact with the SDF as they are one of our key partners on the enduring defeat of ISIS mission. I won’t speak for the SDF or talk about their potential future operations other than to say that again, we will continue to coordinate closely when it comes to the threat of ISIS and ensuring that they’re not able to resurge throughout Syria or into Iraq. I’ll just leave it there.”
“Ryder, emphasizing that the U.S. has no involvement in the rebel offensive, added that American forces have recently come under fire in the Deir Ezzor area and responded with defensive actions.”
“The U.S. carried out defensive strikes in eastern Syria after MSS Euphrates was attacked, Ryder told reporters… He was quick to point out that they had nothing to do with the rebel offensive or against regime forces.”
“‘This morning, U.S. Central Command forces successfully destroyed several weapons systems in the vicinity of Military Support Site Euphrates in Syria, that included three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces,’ Ryder explained. ‘The self-defense strike occurred after the mobile multiple rocket launchers fired rockets that landed in the vicinity of MSS Euphrates and mortars were fired towards U.S. forces.’
“The US is ‘still assessing who is operating these weapons,’ Ryder continued. ‘But you do know that there are Iranian-backed militia groups in the area that have conducted attacks on MSS Euphrates in the past. There are also Syrian military forces that operate in the area. To be clear, these self-defense actions successfully eliminated imminent threats to U.S. personnel and were not linked to any broader activities in northwest Syria by other groups.’” Warzone, Claims Swirl Around U.S. Strikes In Eastern Syria