US-led Coalition Covered Islamic State Terrorists’ Combat Units in Syria: Russian MoD

(NOTE: The story has been updated on 27 November 2017. The Russian MoD claims were proved to be pictures from a video game. The posts on Russian official social media have been deleted. Read the entire story by clicking on the link provided below) 

Russia Publishes Pictures from Video Game as Evidence of US Collusion with Islamic State

The Russian Ministry of Defense has accused the US of supporting the Islamic State terrorists instead of eliminating the fleeing convoys on the eastern shore of Euphrates.

The ministry posted satellite images which it claims is that of IS convoys escaping from Abu Kamal to Syrian-Iraqi border as evidence that US are actually covering IS combat units to recover their combat capabilities, redeploy, and use them to promote the American interests in the Middle East, the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The MoD stated that the numerous IS armed formations were fleeing strikes of Russian aircraft and the Syrian Arab Army and were leaving Abu Kamal for Wadi al-Sabha passage located at Syrian-Iraqi border.

Command staff of the Russian force grouping in Syria sent two requests to the US-led coalition HQ to hold combined operation in order to eliminate fleeing IS convoys on eastern shore of the Euphrates, the statement said.

“The American side clearly refused to carry out strikes on terrorists because ‘militants surrendered voluntarily’ and their actions were assessed in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War,” the Russian MoD said in a statement that was published on its official Facebook page.

Moscow also accused the American side to have failed to answer the question asked by them as to why the IS terrorists left Syria on combat vehicles with heavy armament in the coalition (US)-controlled territories and preparing for new attacks against the SAA near Abu Kamal.

Moreover, in order to allow the terrorists to hide from Russian and Syrian strikes, the coalition’s aircraft tried to interfere with the Russian Aerospace Forces’ actions in the area. The US-led Coalition Air Force entered the 15-km zone around Abu Kamal to interrupt operation of the Russian aircraft, the ministry stated.

Though the flight ban for the US-led coalition in the zone has been earlier agreed and approved by the Combined Air Operations Center in al-Udeid, Qatar.

With these actions by the US-led coalition, it is clear that offensive of the SAA towards Abu Kamal has upset the US plans to establish the US-supported authorities beyond the Syrian government’s power in order to control the eastern shore of the Euphrates.

At the same time, it was the IS units that should have acted as local US-backed forces which control the city. The SDF formations’ flags found in Abu Kamal prove that the ISIS militants had disguised in colors of the SDF.