Russia threatens strikes against US troops and their allies in Syria

MOSCOW — Russia raised the threat of a direct confrontation with U.S. forces in Syria, saying Thursday that the Russian military will target areas occupied by American units and U.S.-backed militias if Moscow’s troops come under fire.

The warning came amid rising tensions in the Syrian desert between the United States and its Kurdish and Arab allies on the one hand, and Russia, the Syrian government and Iranian-backed militias on the other, as both converge on Islamic State-held territory in eastern Syria.

A Russian military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said the U.S.