The Syrian government has blamed the United States for the deaths of its soldiers in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zur on Friday.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Saturday, stating that US occupation forces committed a new crime by targeting a bus carrying a number of Syrian Arab Army personnel southeast of Deir ez-Zur, resulting in the martyrdom of several soldiers and the injury of others.
The ministry emphasized that “this criminal and terrorist aggression is part of the US escalation against Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. It falls within the context of the US support and sponsorship of terrorist organizations, foremost among them the terrorist organization ISIS, and their utilization along with collaborating separatist militias as tools to execute its schemes.”
The statement added, “This painful incident reminds us of the heinous attack carried out by US occupation forces in 2016 on Syrian Arab Army positions in Jabal al-Tharda in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zur.”
On Thursday night, a bus carrying Syrian government forces was ambushed at the second station, located 70 kilometers south of the city of Mayadin in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zur. The attack resulted in the killing of 23 Syrian forces.
The eastern regions of Syria are witnessing escalating tensions between Syrian government forces and US forces. US forces in eastern Syria have been frequently targeted with rocket attacks.