The United States has confirmed that it has shot down an Iranian drone flying over Syria near the now infamous illegal US base near At Tanf in southern Syria.
At Tanf has been the location of several illegal US attacks on Syrian and allied convoys.
This is the first aggressive act the US has committed against a Syrian allied aircraft in 48 hours. Two days ago, the US downed a Syrian jet flying in Syrian airspace, a clear violation of the letter and spirit of international law.
The US is literally an illegal occupying force in Syria with no international mandate or justification for its operations in the country.
Iran by contrast operates in Syria legally as part of the Syrian led anti-terrorist coalition which also includes Russia.
The United States said that it would try to avoid confrontations with Syrian and allied aircraft after Russia said it would consider non-allied aircraft flying west of the Euphrates in Syria as legitimate targets.
This is the first US attack on a Syrian allied aircraft since Russia issued its warning.
The US detailed the nature of the downing of the Iranian drone in the following way,
.@CJTFOIR statement on the shooting down of an armed pro-regime drone in southern Syria pic.twitter.com/PbwKIOmmnt
— Fergus Kelly (@ferguskelly) June 20, 2017
The US keeps saying that it has no intention of targeting Syrian and allied aircraft but these words are betrayed by unrelenting US actions to the contrary.
The US has now shot down Syrian aircraft and Iranian aircraft. All that remains is for the US to attempt to shoot down a Russian aircraft for things to get incredibly dangerous, more so than they already are.
The illegal US base in At Tanf has been a consistently dangerous place for Syrian and allied troops.
Any member of the Syrian coalition, including Russia would be within its rights to strike at the US base in At Tanf and reduce it to rubble.
Russia ought to strongly consider the possibility of giving personnel at the base a short time to evacuate before firing on the garrison and destroying it once and for all.
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