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Protesters holding flags of the Syrian revolution and singing at Maaret al-Numan, a town in Idlib province, Syria, on Friday, September 7, 2018; Friday rallies held as Iranian, Turkish and Russian presidents meet in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria
More than 100 US marines have launched an air strike in the southern Syrian desert backed by artillery fire to send a "strong message" to Russia not to send its forces into a restricted area close to the USSR. an American military outpost.
Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Tehran on Friday to finalize the next steps of the seven-year Syrian civil war in anticipation of an offensive led by Syrian President Bashar al-Qaeda's forces. Assad. northwest of Idlib province.
On two occasions this month (1 September and 6 September), the Russian military warned their US counterparts of their intention to carry out a military operation in southern Syria near the At Tanf garrison where the US special forces are located.
Vladimir Putin (Russia), Hassan Rouhani (Iran) and Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey)
The US military has twice told the Russians to back down.
"The United States does not seek to fight the Russians, the Syrian government or groups that could support Syria in the Syrian civil war," Central Command spokesman Captain William Urban said in a statement. American. .
"The United States does not need any assistance in our efforts to destroy ISIS".
In Tehran, the trilateral summit between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed to finalize military plans for "the complete annihilation of terrorists in Syria".
The region is home to three million people, including hundreds of thousands of civilians living among rebel fighters, including thousands with links to Al Qaeda.
The Trump administration has warned Syria, Russia and Iran not to launch the offensive because of the fear of civilian casualties resulting in bloodshed in a seven-year civil war.
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Earlier this week, President Trump tweeted: "President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not rashly attack Idlib province.Russians and Iranians will make a grave humanitarian mistake by participating in this human tragedy. . " to be killed. Do not let that happen! "
The warning seemed to have been ignored after Russian planes began bombing Idlib.
"We consider that any attack on Idlib is a dangerous escalation of the conflict in Syria," US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told reporters in New York on Friday. "The airstrikes of Russia and the regime have already begun against the civilian areas.
"The atrocities committed by Assad will be a permanent stain on history and a black mark for this council that has been prevented by Russia from taking measures to help," she added.
In a statement describing the air strike that took place Friday night in Syria, a spokesman for the US Army Central Command, responsible for all US forces in the Middle East, said a target with air forces and integrated terrestrial, and perform a rapid exfiltration anywhere in the Combined Operations Joint Operation Inherent Resolve Zone.
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"Exercises like this reinforce our defeat capabilities against the Islamic State group and ensure that we are ready to respond to any threat to our forces," said US Navy Captain Bill Urban.
A threat that some have taken beyond ISIS but in Moscow.
The rare show of force in Syria comes months after American planes, including AC-130 fighter helicopters, jet planes and bombers, killed about 300 Russian mercenaries near Deir al-Zor, in the north of the country. East of Syria.
"The Russians accepted a [34 mile] "Deconflict Zone" around the At Tanf garrison to avoid accidental conflicts between our forces and to remain professionally engaged through disarmament pathways. We expect the Russians to respect this agreement, "Urban said.
The Russian government has long called for the 2,000 US military to leave Syria.
Russian provocations were not limited to Syria. On Friday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said a pair of fifth-generation American F-22 stealth fighter aircraft from Alaska intercepted two nuclear-capable Tu-95 "Bear" bombers last Saturday, flying south. of the Aleutian Islands. It was the first Russian bomber flight known in the United States since May.
Fox News & # 39; Ben Florance & Associated Press contributed to this report
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