Three MQ-9 Reaper drones that the US military said were “harassed” by Russian fighter jets over Syria on Friday were the same drones that later carried out an airstrike that killed a leader of the group Estat Islamic, the US Central Command announced on Sunday.
IS leader Usama-al-Muhajir was killed on Friday, CENTCOM said.
The news ended three consecutive days of tense meetings where the United States had criticized Russian pilots for “unsafe and unprofessional” behavior with their drones flying over Syria.
“Friday’s strike was carried out by the same MQ-9s that earlier in the day had been besieged by Russian aircraft in an encounter that had lasted nearly two hours,” added Sunday’s CENTCOM statement.
Russian SU-35 fighter jets approach the US MQ-9 jet, July 5, 2023, over Syria.
United States Air Force
The US military has criticized the behavior of Russian fighter pilots who it said had “harassed” Reaper drones flying counter-terrorism missions over Syria in two separate incidents on Wednesday and Thursday.
To highlight this behavior, the US military declassified two videos showing Russian fighter jets throwing parachute flares in front of the drones and one of the planes engaging their afterburners, all actions that caused the drones to make evasive maneuvers .
There was a third consecutive day of interactions between Russian fighters and US drones on Friday as the US Air Force Central said that “Russian aircraft made 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ -9 would react to avoid unsafe situations”.
Russian military SU-34 and SU-35 jets use flares on the flight path of a US MQ-9 jet on July 6, 2023, over Syria.
United States Air Force
“We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM. “ISIS is a threat, not just to the region but far beyond.”
“There are no indications that any civilians were killed in this strike and the coalition is evaluating reports of a civilian injury,” the CENTCOM statement said Sunday.
It is unclear where the US airstrike took place in Syria.
US aircraft typically operate in eastern Syria, where 900 US troops are involved in operations against IS, while Russian troops and aircraft operate in western Syria in support of President Bashar’s regime al-Assad.
Last week, a Pentagon spokesman dismissed claims by the Russian Defense Ministry that US drones had been operating in areas where Russian aircraft operate.
However, on previous occasions, US aircraft have operated in northwestern Syria to carry out airstrikes against high-level IS leaders.
For years, both militaries have regularly used a deconfliction hotline to provide advance notice of where their aircraft would operate over Syria to avoid any unsafe interactions.
US officials have said that Russia no longer uses this line regularly in recent months.
