US alleges Russian armoured car rammed American vehicle, injuring soldiers (Source The Guardian)

The US has alleged a Russian armoured car rammed a US military vehicle, injuring American soldiers, in what the White House called “unsafe and unprofessional” behaviour when patrols from the two countries’ militaries confronted each other in north-eastern Syria.

According to the US national security council the incident took place on Tuesday morning near a location it described as “Dayrick”, a possible reference to Derik, near the Turkish and Iraqi borders. During this interaction, a Russian vehicle struck a Coalition mine-resistant ambush protected all-terrain vehicle causing injuries to the vehicle’s crew,” NSC spokesman John Ullyot said.

“To de-escalate the situation, the Coalition patrol departed the area. Unsafe and unprofessional actions like this represent a breach of de-confliction protocols, committed to by the United States and Russia in December 2019.” According to Politico, which first reported the incident, citing a draft military statement, four American soldiers were diagnosed with mild concussion.