Russia fears as U.S. moves rocket launchers in Syria

Moscow [Russia], June 15 (ANI): Russia said that the U.S. military has moved its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from Jordan into southern Syria for the first time, positioning it near the U.S.-Coalition training base at At Tanf and the hardware could be used against Bashar Assad forces. The Russian military stated that the combat range of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) "can't support the U.S.-controlled units of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa." Moscow is closely monitoring the situation on the border between Syria and Jordan as U.S. air forces have struck pro-government forces in Syria on three occasions in the last couple of weeks, saying that it was a "response to threats posed to coalition forces operating out of At Tanf." The moves drew serious condemnation from the Syrian government. At the same time, the forces of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition have on several occasions hit Syrian government troops who are fighting against Islamic State Therefore, it's not hard to imagine that such strikes on the Syrian military may be continued in the future, but this time with the use of HIMARS," Russian Today quoted the statement. Last week, a U.S. F-15E jet shot down an Iranian-made pro-regime Shahed 129 drone that had dropped a "dud" munitions near coalition forces patrolling near At Tanf, according to US officials. The Defence Ministry said "The deployment of any type of foreign weaponry on Syrian territory, especially such as reactive multiple launch systems, must be agreed upon with the government of the sovereign country."(ANI)