US Marines stationed in Syria have fired air and artillery shots into a desert area in south to send Russian forces a warning.

The air assault in the southern Syrian desert backed by artillery fire aimed to send a strong message to Russia, two US defense officials told Fox News on Friday.

The message we want to convey to Russia is to not send your forces inside a restricted area near an American military outpost in southern Syria, they said.

Earlier, the Russian military command had on two occasions coordinated with the Americans that it intended to launch a military operation against militants in southern Syria near the At Tanf garrison where US special operations forces are located. Both times, American forces declined to cooperate with the Russian command.

Back in July, US Defense Secretary James Mattis had said that the US forces, for the time being, would have no cooperation with the Russian military command stationed in Syria.

US defense officials are opposed to coordination with the Russian forces fighting the militants in Syria.

The US military and Russian forces are conducting two independent military operations in the country.

Russian forces are in Syria at the request of the government of Bashar al-Assad to help fight the Daesh militants who have been wreaking havoc across the country for years.

The US military forces, which have been launching attacks on Syria since 2014, claim they seek to fight the terrorist groups, as well; however, in reality Americans are also giving aid and training to the militant groups fighting against the Damascus government.



