Forces loyal to Syria's Bashar Assad regime clashed with the PKK terrorist group's Syrian affiliate in the Deir el-Zour region on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, the Syrian regime declared that it captured villages east of the Euphrates River that were controlled by the People's Protection Units (YPG). According to information gathered by Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondents from local sources, pro-Assad regime forces took control of two villages in the region.
However, shortly after, the United States-backed YPG said that they barred Syrian regime forces from the region and took back control of the villages once again, adding that the regime forces were backed by the Russian forces.
According to the British-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, during the clashes, six YPG terrorists were killed, while 22 others wounded.
Crossings into the east bank of the Euphrates River in eastern Syria by the regime forces have been rare.
Much of Deir el-Zour province was held by the Daesh terrorist group but over the past year Assad regime forces captured most areas west of the Euphrates while SDF fighters took areas east of the river. The regime mainly focused on regaining territory from the opposition.
On Feb. 7, pro-regime fighters attacked SDF positions east of the river and faced a ferocious U.S. counterattack that left dozens, including Russians, dead.
"We consider this aggression by regime forces to be support for terrorism and falls within the attempts to impede the war on terrorism," said the YPG following the clashes, implying that the Syrian regime was disrupting their fight against Daesh.
A U.S. army statement sent to Reuters confirmed the attack on the YPG by what it called pro-regime forces near Deir el-Zour and said the "coalition used established de-confliction channels to de-escalate the situation," without elaborating.
"The coalition remains committed to our Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF, a group that is dominated by the YPG] partners in the campaign to defeat Daesh in eastern Syria," the statement added.
American support for the YPG has long vexed Ankara as Washington views them as a "reliable partner" in its fight against Daesh and continues to provide it with arms and equipment in the face of strong objections by Turkey.