White House: Russian Aircraft Flew 'Dangerously Close' to US drone over Syria

White House: Russian Aircraft Flew 'Dangerously Close' to US drone over Syria
TT

White House: Russian Aircraft Flew 'Dangerously Close' to US drone over Syria

White House: Russian Aircraft Flew 'Dangerously Close' to US drone over Syria

A Russian aircraft flew "dangerously close" to a US drone over Syria earlier this week in violation of established protocols and international norms, the White House said on Wednesday.

"We have seen the early reports of a second Russian fighter aircraft this week, flying dangerously close to our drone on a defeat ISIS mission," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in a press briefing.

The US military said on Tuesday the Russian fighter jet hit the US drone with a flare and "severely" damaged its propeller over Syria, according to Reuters.

US officials say that Russian jets have increased the pace of dangerous encounters with US military aircraft in recent months over Syria, where forces from both countries operate.



Israel Carries Out More Airstrikes Deep inside Lebanon

File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
TT

Israel Carries Out More Airstrikes Deep inside Lebanon

File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)

Israeli warplanes carried three airstrikes deep into eastern Lebanon on Friday for the second time since a ceasefire ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel a month ago, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said.
No casualties were reported in the strikes on the Bekaa Valley town of Qousaya and the target remained unclear. The Israeli military said its air force struck “infrastructure used to smuggle weapons via Syria” to Hezbollah near the Janta crossing on the Syrian-Lebanese border, about 9 kilometers (5 miles) north of Qousaya. Israel accused Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 of overseeing smuggling operations from Iran through Syria, adding that it had killed the unit’s commander in early October, reported The Associated Press.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, the Israeli army has conducted near-daily operations in southern Lebanon, including shootings, house demolitions, excavations, tank shelling and airstrikes. These actions have killed at least 27 people, wounded more than 30 and destroyed residential buildings, including a mosque.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, said it has observed “concerning actions” by Israeli forces, including the destruction of homes and road closures.
On Thursday, the Lebanese army accused Israeli troops of breaching the ceasefire by encroaching into southern Lebanon. Israeli bulldozers erected dirt barricades to block roads in Wadi Al-Hujayr.
The Lebanese army later on Thursday said that following intervention by the ceasefire supervision committee, Israeli forces withdrew, and Lebanese soldiers removed the barriers to reopen the road in the area.
The US-brokered ceasefire, which ended the 14-month war, demands that Hezbollah and Israeli forces withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, allowing Lebanese troops to gradually deploy south of the Litani River.