Russian jets 'harass' US drones for 2nd straight day, Pentagon says

INA-  sources

For a second straight day on Thursday, Russian fighter jets harassed American military dronesflying over eastern Syria by dropping parachute-borne flares in their flight path, the Pentagon said.
Once again, the U.S. military labeled the provocative act as "unsafe and unprofessional" and called on Russia to cease its risky behavior.

As with Wednesday's incident, the Pentagon released a declassified video of the new encounter captured by a camera aboard an MQ-9 Reaper drone involved in the incident.
The video shows a Russian Su-35 fighter jets positioning itself in front of an MQ-9 Reaper before dropping parachute-borne flares into its flight path, officials said.
As in Wednesday's incident, the American drone had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the drones, officials said.

Russian aircraft dropped flares in front of the drones and flew dangerously close, endangering the safety of all aircraft involved," Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the top U.S. Air Force commander in the Middle East, said in a statement about Thursday's incident.
"These events represent another example of unprofessional and unsafe actions by Russian air forces operating in Syria, which threaten the safety of both Coalition and Russian forces," said Grynkewich.
"We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS," he added.

On Wednesday, a declassified video released by the Pentagon of that day's encounter showed Russian aircraft doing the same thing to three Reaper drones but from a front-facing point of view.
That video also showed a Russian jet engaging its afterburner by the drone a move that affected the drone's flight path.

source: ABC NEWS