MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The airstrikes by the coalition planes near the Deir ez-Zor airport were first reported by the Syrian army on Saturday saying they attacked the government troops fighting Daesh. Later in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks, saying they killed 62 servicemen and injured 100 more. The US Central Command said that the Syrian forces were mistaken for Daesh fighters.
"Two Danish F-16 [fighter aircraft] participated in these attacks along with the aircraft of other nations. The strikes had been stopped immediately after the Russian side reported that the positions of the Syrian servicemen had been hit," the military command authority of the Danish Armed Forces said in a statement issued Sunday.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries, including the United States and Russia.
The US-led coalition has been carrying out anti-Daesh strikes since September 2014 without the approval of the UN Security Council or Syrian authorities.
