Syrian state media says US attacked Syrian military positions; Washington denies this.
Syrian state media reported that the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State attacked Syrian military positions in the east of the country, but the US military denied this; the Islamic State lost most of its territory in Syria last year but retained control of some remote desert areas and has attacked the Syrian army and allied forces in recent weeks.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state media reported that the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State attacked Syrian military positions in the east of the country on Thursday, but the U.S. military denied this.
The Islamic State lost most of its territory in Syria last year, but retained control of some remote areas in the desert and has been attacking the Syrian army and allied forces in recent weeks. The coalition has also recently resumed its own campaign against the jihadist group in Syria.
"Some of our military installations between Albu Kamal and Humeima were exposed during the early hours of today to aggression carried out by US coalition jets," the state news agency Sana said, citing a military source.
The attacks caused only material damage and occurred 24 hours after an attack by the Islamic State against Syrian military positions in the same region, according to the agency.
A U.S. military official denied having any knowledge of the attacks. "We have no operational report of a U.S.-led coalition attack against Syrian pro-regime targets and forces," U.S. Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban told Reuters.
Reporting by Angus McDowall and Hesham Hejali; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington.