A few days ago, on the 16. June 2016, reports first emerged that Russian warplanes had struck positions and the base of US-backed rebels of the New Syrian Army (NSyA). These initial reports were quickly confirmed by the spokesman for the FSA Southern Front (SF), Issam al-Reis, on Twitter. This was later followed up by another confirmation by the official NSyA account on twitter, too.
The NSyA is a rebel alliance formed in November 2015. They have trained with Jordanian and American Special Forces, aswell as with British Special Forces in Jordan. Despite being a comparatively small group, they have already shown some success, capturing multiple areas along the Jordanian border in March. This was coordinated with offensives on the Iraqi border nearby, conducted by Iraqi Tribal forces, supported by the US led coalition.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) released pictures they obtained from the NSyA base. They confirm that Russian warplanes used cluster bombs to target vehicles and positions inside the camp, destroying many and killing two fighters.
CNN reported that after Russian warplanes targeted the rebels, US jets started circling the airspace over the base trying to establish communication with the Russians. After getting no response, they went to refuel – right when Russian jets decided to attack the base for a second time. The US has expressed strong concerns over this incident and has invited Russian officials for talks over the issue.
