Russia says US strike in Syria an attempt to take ‘Syrian economic assets’

BEIRUT — The Russian military says a US strike on government-backed troops in eastern Syria reflects Washington’s efforts to make a grab for the nation’s economic assets.

The overnight attack, which killed about 100 people according to the US military, came when hundreds of attackers launched an assault on US-backed forces known as the Syrian Democratic Forces who were accompanied by US advisers in the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province.

The Russian Defense Ministry says Thursday the US strike wounded 25 pro-government Syrian volunteers. It notes that the government-backed Syrian forces had failed to coordinate their action with the Russian military prior to launching the mission.

It says the incident “again showed that the US is maintaining its illegal presence in Syria not to fight the Islamic State group, but to seize and hold Syrian economic assets.”

— AP