Flexing Muscle in Syria Tests the U.S.

Moscow ratcheted up its war of words against the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, after the Pentagon said it downed a Syrian military plane for the first time. That came as Tehran took an unprecedented step of firing ballistic missiles into eastern Syria, against what it called ISIS targets, over the weekend. The threats from Russia and show of force by Iran over Syria – the regime’s strongest supporters – may force Washington to re-consider its Syrian strategy.

On Monday, Russia’s defense ministry warned it would view any aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition in Syria as “targets” after a Syrian army jet was shot down near Raqqa the day before.

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