{"id":60590,"date":"2020-02-12T13:16:11","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T13:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/12\/syria-us-troops-open-fire-on-locals-in-northeast-killing-1\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:27:24","slug":"syria-us-troops-open-fire-on-locals-in-northeast-killing-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/02\/12\/syria-us-troops-open-fire-on-locals-in-northeast-killing-1\/","title":{"rendered":"American troops clash with pro-government group in northeast Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DAMASCUS \u2014 A Syrian was killed and another was wounded when government supporters attacked American troops and tried to block their way as their convoy drove through an army checkpoint in northeastern Syria, prompting a rare clash, state media and activists reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. military said its force came under fire, and that troops responded in self-defense. It said an investigation of the incident was underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syrian state-run media said the man killed was a civilian and that he was among residents of a village east of the town of Qamishli who had gathered at the checkpoint and pelted the U.S. convoy with stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A video posted on state news agency SANA\u2019s website showed angry men firing small arms at a convoy of several armored U.S. vehicles flying the U.S. flag. Some residents pelted the convoy with stones, while another dumped a bucket full of dirt on the back of one vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one of the worst incidents of violence against U.S. troops deployed in northeastern Syria, a small appears to ignite on an armored vehicle, apparently from fire bombs lobbed at the convoy. U.S. soldiers were seen standing in the middle of the melee, trying to disperse the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other videos showed another vehicle stuck in the dirt, apparently having veered into a ditch, while another had a flat tire. In one video, a resident walked up to U.S. soldiers at one of the vehicles, holding a U.S. flag, screaming: \u201cWhat do you want from our country? What is your business here?\u201d A soldier tells the shouting man to \u201cback off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that point, American troops fired live ammunition and smoke bombs at the residents, the reports said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"American
In this frame grab from video, people and soldiers gather next to an American military convoy stuck in the village of Khirbet Ammu, east of Qamishli city, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. The Syrian official news agency SANA, said Wednesday, that locals had gathered at an army checkpoint, pelting the U.S. convoy with stones and taking down a U.S. flag flying on a vehicle when troops fired with live ammunition and smoke bombs. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A U.S. military spokesman said coalition forces conducting a patrol near Qamishli encountered a checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian government forces who ignored a series of warnings by coalition troops to de-escalate the situation. The patrol came under small-arms fire from unknown individuals, coalition spokesman Myles Caggins said, adding that coalition troops returned fire in self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe situation was de-escalated and is under investigation,\u201d he said in a statement. Air Force Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, traveling with the U.S. defense secretary in Brussels, said no Americans were killed in the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about the incident, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in Brussels he was told there was an \u201caltercation,\u201d without providing details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs far as I know today\u2019s incident did not involve the Russians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"American
In this frame grab from video, Russian, Syrian and others gather next to an American military convoy stuck in the village of Khirbet Ammu, east of Qamishli city, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. Syrian media and activists say a Syrian was killed and another wounded in a rare clash between American troops and a group of government supporters in northeast Syria. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In other violence in the country\u2019s northwest, Syrian President Bashar Assad\u2019s forces continued their advance<\/a> in Idlib and Aleppo provinces near the border with Turkey. They took full control of a strategic highway that runs through the rebel-held territory and links the capital to northern Syria. The M5 highway had been under opposition control for most of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said in a statement that Syrian troops fully cleared the M5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSyria\u2019s most important transport artery \u2014 the M5 highway linking the blocked northern capital of Aleppo with Hama, Homs and Damascus in the south \u2014 has been freed from terrorists,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support from Russia, Syrian troops have been on the offensive for weeks in Idlib and parts of nearby Aleppo provinces, unleashing a humanitarian crisis with 700,000 people fleeing their homes and surging north toward the Turkish border.<\/p>\n\n\n\t