‘PANDERING TO ISIS’

‘PANDERING TO ISIS’

Hours after the coalition strike, the Pentagon admitted US-led pilots may have hit Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces but said that they “believed they were striking a Daesh (IS) fighting position”.

It said coalition forces “would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit.”

Russia said it was “deeply concerned,” warning that Washington would have to reign in rebels fighting Assad “otherwise, the realisation of Russia-US agreements ... could be put in danger.” “The actions of the pilots — if they, as we hope, were not taken on orders from Washington — fall between criminal negligence and direct pandering to IS terrorists,” it said.

An emergency UN Security Council meeting called by Moscow to discuss the attack ended early on Saturday after an exchange between the US and Russia reminiscent of Cold War-era verbal jousting.

US ambassador Samantha Power said Moscow’s request for the meeting was a “stunt”, while her Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin accused the US of violating agreements that it would not target army positions.

AUSTRALIA’S INVOLVEMENT

AUSTRALIA’S INVOLVEMENT

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia regretted the loss of life and injuries to Syrian soldiers as the result of a bombing raid on Saturday.

The prime minister confirmed Australian aircraft were involved in the coalition exercise but pulled out when Russian officials advised the targets may have been Syrian military personnel.

“We regret the loss of life and injury to any Syrian personnel affected,” Mr Turnbull told reporters overnight in New York, where he is for the annual United Nations General Assembly.

He said Australia’s rules of engagement were to target IS but it is a very complex environment.

“You’ll find over the next little while no doubt arguments or issues about why there wasn’t more co-ordination or who was meant to be advising who,” he said.

Mr Turnbull admitted it remains to be seen whether the Syrian ceasefire will be put in jeopardy.

Speaking on Radio National this morning, the Lowy Institute’s Middle East expert Rodger Shanahan said Australia’s exact role in the bungle remained unclear.

Media reports have emerged that show F16s and A10s were in the air space at the time of Saturday’s raid, but Australia doesn’t have those aircraft as part of our fleet in the Middle East.