One Syrian Officer Killed, Two Injured in US Airstrike South of Qamishli, Reports Say

According to the agency, the strike was carried out on an army checkpoint near the settlement of Tell al-Zakhab.

According to the newspaper al-Watan, one of the injured persons is a Syrian Army officer. The newspaper reported that the US patrol tried to break into a zone controlled by the Syrian Army, but did not say whether the aircraft that launched the attack was American or belonged to another country.

Commenting on the incident, Operation Inherent Resolve Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins said in a statement posted on Twitter that the US-led forces returned fire toward a Syrian Arab Army checkpoint in Qamishli in "self-defence."

"On Aug. 17 at approx. 9:20 a.m. (Syria Time), Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces, conducting a routine ... security patrol near Tal Al-Zahab, Syria, encountered a checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian regime forces. After receiving safe passage from the pro-regime forces, the patrol came under small arms fire from individuals in the vicinity of the checkpoint. Coalition troops returned fire in self-defence. The Coalition did not conduct an airstrike. No Coalition casualties occurred," Caggins said.

Meanwhile, the Russian military has reported that Turkish military personnel were hit by an explosion in Idlib Province during a joint patrol mission with Russians.