ISTANBUL_Russia and Syria on Saturday accused U.S.-led forces of launching an airstrike that killed 62 Syrian soldiers and wounded more than 100 at an air base in eastern Syria.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement that American warplanes carried out a strike south of Dair Alzour but it could not confirm that they hit Syrian forces.
"Coalition forces believed they were striking a Daesh fighting position that they had been tracking for a significant amount of time before the strike," the statement said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "The coalition airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military."
There have been fears that the U.S. military could accidentally strike Syrian or Russian forces since the air campaign against Islamic State began more than two years ago. The U.S. has no contact with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and limited military-to-military communications with Moscow.
The Pentagon and Russian military established an emergency communications line last October to ensure the two countries' pilots do not mistakenly run into _ or fire upon _ each other as they conduct daily bombing runs over Syria.
The Pentagon used the line twice this summer: to warn the Russians after they hit U.S.-backed rebels with an airstrike in the southern town of Tanf, and again after Syrian fighter jets nearly hit U.S. special operations forces in northeastern Hasakah.
Central Command said the location of Saturday's airstrike was in an area that had been hit by the U.S.-led coalition in the past. The military also said that coalition officers at the air operations command hub in Qatar had earlier informed Russian counterparts of the upcoming strike.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the airstrike took place near Dair Alzour airport, a government facility that is surrounded by Islamic State forces.
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a ministry spokesman, said it was carried out by two F-16 and two A-10 aircraft. He quoted Syrian authorities as saying 62 soldiers were killed and more than 100 injured.
