U.S.-led coalition, pro-Assad forces clash in east Syria

By Phil Stewart and Lisa Barrington WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) – A U.S.-led coalition and its local allies in Syria struck pro-government forces with air and artillery fire overnight to repel “an unprovoked attack” near the Euphrates, the coalition said on Thursday. The incident underscores the potential for further conflict in Syria’s oil-rich east, where the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias holds swathes of land after its offensive against Islamic State. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Russia and by Shi’ite militias backed by Iran, has said he wants to take back every inch of Syria.