US struggles to calm new Syria flashpoints
Even as the Trump administration says it wants to avoid clashing with Assad and his allies, experts say a lack of a clear US strategy in Syria makes confrontation more likely.
WASHINGTON — The United States scrambled today to calm escalating tensions in Syria a day after the US-led coalition shot down an Assad regime warplane and Iran launched missile strikes against the Islamic State (IS).
Sunday's destruction of a Soviet-era fighter-bomber by a US Navy jet marked the first time that the United States has shot down a Syrian aircraft in the six-year civil war. That same day, Iran fired several missiles at IS targets in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, the first time in more than 15 years that Tehran has fired missiles at a foreign country.
