Australia suspends its airstrikes in Syria against IS as precaution

MOSCOW - Russia has warned it would track US-led coalition aircraft in Syria as potential "targets" and halted a military hotline with Washington after US forces downed a Syrian jet.

The United States moved quickly to contain an escalation, with a top general saying it would work to relaunch the "deconfliction" hotline established in 2015.

The downing of the jet and Russia's response came as the US-led coalition and allied fighters battle to oust the Islamic State group from its Syrian bastion Raqa.

Analysts say neither Washington nor Damascus appear to be seeking further confrontation, although the risks remain high in Syria's increasingly crowded battlefields and airspace.

"Any flying objects, including planes and drones of the international coalition, discovered west of the Euphrates River will be tracked as aerial targets by Russia's air defenses on and above ground," said Russian Defence Ministry.

It said Washington had failed to use the hotline - a vital incident-prevention tool - before downing the plane near Raqa.

"We will work diplomatically and militarily in the coming hours to re-establish deconfliction," said US General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, referring to the hotline.

Meanwhile, Australia has suspended its airstrikes against IS targets in Syria as a precaution following the Russian warning.

In Canberra, a Defense Department statement said on Tuesday that "Australian Defense Force protection is regularly reviewed in response to a range of potential threats".

Australia has six fighter jets based in the United Arab Emirates that strike targets in Syria and Iraq.

The jet was downed on Sunday evening after Syrian forces targeted the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

An US F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down the Syrian SU-22 as it "dropped bombs near SDF fighters" south of the town of Tabqa, the US-led coalition said in a statement.

Russia's defense minister said the pilot ejected "above IS-controlled territories" and that his fate was unknown.

The coalition said Syrian troops attacked SDF fighters near Tabqa, south of Raqa, wounding several and chasing them out of the town.

'Aggression'

It said the warplane was targeted in line with the "rules of engagement".

Damascus and Moscow condemned the "aggression".

The Syrian Army said the plane was hit while on a mission against IS extremists and warned of "the grave consequences of this flagrant aggression".

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was a "continuation of America's line to disregard the norms of international law".

"What is this if not an act of aggression?"

It was the latest skirmish between the coalition and Syrian forces in the increasingly tense and crowded space in Syria's north and east.

Backed by the coalition, SDF forces entered Raqa for the first time two weeks ago, after months of fierce fighting, and have seized four neighborhoods.

The Syrian Army is not involved in the offensive, and has instead turned its focus further east to the largely IS-held, oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor.

Pro-government forces are moving on three fronts, south of Raqa, through the Badia desert region in central Syria, and along the eastern border.

It has created tensions, particularly along Syria's border, where the US and its allies are training an anti-IS force at the Al-Tanaf garrison.

Afp - Xinhua - Ap

(China Daily 06/21/2017 page12)