A road rage incident between Russian and U.S. combat vehicles was caught on video in Syria at a time of heightened tensions between the two forces in the war-torn country.
A bystander caught the moment when a U.S. Oshkosh M-ATV ran what appears to be a Russian Tigr armored car off the busy road as it attempted to overtake the U.S. convoy. The vehicles appear to collide, and a passerby is seen narrowly escaping being hit by the Tigr.
A Syrian researcher who shared the 45-second clip online wrote that the incident took place in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the confrontation in a conference call with reporters Thursday, deferring queries to the Defense Ministry.
The U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Iraq said it was reviewing the incident, the Military Times reported, citing spokesman Col. Myles Caggins.
“The Coalition’s goal is to de-escalate any unplanned encounters with other forces operating in northeastern Syria,” Caggins told the news website.
U.S. Central Command said it was also looking into the video, the Military Times cited spokesman Capt. William Urban as saying.
The latest episode follows a series of standoffs between U.S. and Russian troops in Syria in recent weeks. The U.S. special envoy for Syria has accused Russia of violating the terms of de-confliction in what he characterized as an attempt to challenge the U.S. presence there.
Russia, a staunch ally of the Syrian government, launched a military air campaign in Syria in 2015 to help Damascus recapture parts of the country from rebels. Moscow has long insisted that the U.S. military presence in Syria is illegal.
