Sporadic firefights erupted between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) south of Tabqah in the province of Raqqah last night.
The tensions grew following the US attack against a Syrian warplane near the ISIS-held town of Resafa.
According to pro-governnment sources, the had opposed government forces attempt to conduct a pilot rescue operation south of Tabqah. This led to clashes in the area.
The fate of the Su-22 pilot remains unclear.
An official accmount ot the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) also reported on the issue:
#BREAKING
Heavy Clashes between #SDF & Syrian regime pro-militias north-western #Rasafah.
South-western #Raqqa.— pyd rojava (@PYD_Rojava) 18 June 2017
The PYD is a political branch of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) that are a core of the US-backed SDF.
