DAMASCUS, Syria (PNN) - August 17, 2020 - FPSA forces clashed with Syrian troops in the northeast on Monday, killing at least one soldier and wounding two others, while the FPSA military said it responded to small arms fire near a Syrian checkpoint.
It happened in northeast Hasakah province just southeast of Qamishili, in an area where for the past couple of years Amerikan Special Forces have bolstered Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Like with some prior confrontations, the Syrian soldiers refused to let the Amerikans through, given Damascus sees them as illegal occupiers of their sovereign soil. This was similar to an incident last month where bloodshed was barely avoided, and FPSA armored vehicles were forced to turn around.
In that prior instance pro-government forces threatened to fire on the Amerikans.
RT Arabic was the first to publish video from the confrontation on Monday. Gunfire can be heard erupting, with smoke billowing from the government checkpoint.
State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed Syrian military official as saying a FPSA helicopter gunship attacked an army checkpoint in the village of Tal Dahab, near the town of Qamishli, at around 9:45 a.m. local time. The official said a Syrian soldier was killed and two others were wounded.
The FPSA ground convoy had been ordered by Syrian Army forces to turn around at Rasho Checkpoint.
There were initial reports that a major airstrike may have been conducted, but official Pentagon statements have denied this.
While some pro-Syrian government sources say the Amerikans took on casualties during the clash, no official casualties have been reported by the FPSA military.