American fighter jets have unsuccessfully tried to stop Russian bombers from striking US-backed militants in Syria, a new report claims.
The close encounter occurred on June 16 in southern Syria near the border with Jordan, when at least two twin-engine Su-34 bombers allegedly attacked nearly 200 militants in what was described by the Pentagon as a “border garrison,” the Daily Beast reported Monday.
The US military tried to repel the attack by scrambling F/A-18 fighters to intercept the Russian aircraft, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The American pilots directly contacted their Russian counterparts and flew close enough to visually identify the Su-34s.
According to the Times, the Su-34s left the area at first but returned and bombed the militants again after the F/A-18s reportedly ran low on fuel and went away to link up with an aerial tanker.
Following the attack, the Pentagon said the militants had…