The US-led coalition has launched on Tuesday a fresh strike against forces supporting the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad in the country’s volatile south, in what appears to be the latest sign of growing tension there.

The Pentagon said the coalition “destroyed” a unit of pro-government forces in Syria as they advanced near an area where coalition commandos have been training and advising militants.

A group of about 60 pro-regime soldiers moved into the area with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons and armed technical vehicles, ‘posing a threat to the coalition forces’ at At-Tanf garrison near the border with Jordan and Iraq, the Pentagon said in the statement. “The coalition issued several warnings via the de-confliction line prior to destroying two artillery pieces, an anti-aircraft weapon, and damaging a tank,” it said. The statement didn’t further identify the targeted forces.

Meanwhile, the Syrian army crossed into Raqqa province Tuesday, from neighboring Aleppo province, capturing two villages of Khirbet Mohsen and Khirbet Al-Saba, the Observatory said. The villages are about 80 kilometers from Raqqa city and are located 7 kilometers south of the main road linking Raqqa and Aleppo.

Earlier Tuesday, state news agency SANA reported that airstrikes by the US-led coalition killed 12, including women and children. It said the families were fleeing the city in boats across the Euphrates River ahead of an expected all-out attack by the SDF. The Observatory said 21 people were killed in the Monday night airstrikes. It said they were likely carried out by the U.S.-led coalition.

Source: Agencies