Smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the US led coalition, 2014.

:: US-led coalition jets hit a convoy of Syrian and Iranian-backed militias that were heading towards the Tanf base in southern Syria where US special forces are based, a rebel official with a Pentagon-backed rebel group said on Thursday

Muzahem al Saloum, from the Maghawir al Thwra group, told Reuters that the jets struck after rebel forces clashed with advancing Syrian and Iranian militias that were about 27 kms away from the base.

“We notified the coalition that we were being attacked by the Syrian army and Iranians in this point and the coalition came and destroyed the advancing convoy,” Saloum said.

A US defense official had said a pro-regime convoy in Syria was struck as it headed toward a remote coalition garrison near the Jordanian border.

“A convoy going down the road didn’t respond to numerous ways for it to be warned off from getting too close to coalition forces in At-Tanf,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Then there was finally a strike against the lead portion of that movement.”