The Syrian army and allied forces confronted an attack launched by forces affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance on villages in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor province on Tuesday, state news agency (SANA) reported.
The SDF is a Kurdish-led alliance in north and east Syria which worked with the US-led coalition against the ISIS.
Spearheaded by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and including Arab fighters, it holds a quarter of Syria, including oil fields and areas where some 900 US troops are deployed.
Türkiye, Syria's northern neighbor, considers the YPG and the SDF by extension to be "terrorist" groups.