September 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid

This article is about American coalition airstrike against Syrian soldiers in 2016. For the 2018 American coalition airstrike against Syrian and Iranian forces that killed Russian PMCs, see Battle of Khasham.
September 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid
Part of the Battle of Deir ez-Zor and the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war
Jabal Tardah is located in Syria
Jabal Tardah
Jabal Tardah
Jabal Tardah (Syria)
Date17 September 2016
LocationDeir ez-Zor Airport, Deir ez-Zor, Syria
CauseAirstrikes by CJTF-OIR aircraft
Participants CJTF-OIR (coalition)
Casualties
 Syria 60-90

The September 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid was a series of 37 U.S.-led Coalition airstrikes near the Deir ez-Zor Airport in eastern Syria on 17 September 2016, lasting from 3:55 p.m. to 4:56 p.m. Damascus time in which Syrian Arab Army (SAA) soldiers were killed conducting operations against the Islamic State.[2] Russia reported that at least 62 SAA soldiers were killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least 80 were killed and 120 wounded.[2][3] The United States said that the intended target was Islamic State militants and that the attack on Syrian soldiers was due to a misidentification of ground forces[4] while the Syrian and Russian governments claimed that it was an intentional attack against Syrian troops. The attack triggered "a diplomatic firestorm" with Russia calling an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting.[5] Later, the Syrian government called off a ceasefire that had been the result of months of intense[6] diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and Russian governments.

After the cancellation of the ceasefire by the Syrian government, an aid convoy near Aleppo was attacked, which the U.S. coalition's governments called a retaliatory attack by the Syrian and/or Russian governments, an accusation denied by both governments. The dispute led to an end of U.S.–Russian bilateral peace talks on Syria. Russia used the air raid to justify enhancing its missile air defenses in Syria and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry would go on to claim that the breakdown of the ceasefire helped lead to the eventual capture of rebel-held East Aleppo by Syrian government forces.[7] The attack also led to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was besieging the Syrian-government held city of Deir ez-Zor, capturing multiple strategic points around the Deir ez-Zor airport.

  1. ^ "Syria ceasefire under threat after U.S.-led strikes kill regime troops, Russia says". 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b Almasy, Steve; Starr, Barbara; Roth, Richard (17 September 2016). "Russia: Coalition strike kills Syrian forces". CNN. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Syria conflict: US air strikes 'kill dozens of government troops'". BBC News. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  4. ^ Brig. Gen. Richard Coe; et al. (2 November 2016). "Memorandum for USAFCENT/CC" (PDF).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNN US Air Strike Sept 18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "US and Russia clinch Syria ceasefire deal". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Boston Globe Kerry Interview 18-Dec-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).