BEIRUT — The Syrian military said the U.S.-led coalition attacked one of its artillery positions in the country’s east, wounding two soldiers and destroying a cannon, according to state media reports on Sunday.

The spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition Col. Sean Ryan said their partner forces acted in “self-defense” after coming under fire from the western side of the Euphrates River.

U.S.-led coalition forces, with their local Kurdish-led partners, are battling the remnants of Islamic State group on the eastern banks of the Euphrates, while government troops and allied forces are now positioned on the other side after dislodging Islamic State from there.

The incident highlights the risks of operating in close proximity with rival forces in the crowded area where Islamic State militants are making their last stand.

An unnamed Syrian military official told state news agency SANA that the coalition’s attack took place late Saturday on government positions in Sukkariyah, west of Boukamal town. It was followed by a foiled incursion by Islamic State militants, he added, accusing the U.S. of aiding the militants. Damascus often accuses Washington of aiding “terrorists” to destabilize the government.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said militants, holed up in a small area on the Euphrates’ eastern bank, launched an attack against government forces and allied Iranian-backed troops in an apparent attempt to clear an escape route westward toward the desert.

The militants also fired at government troops from their position, said the Observatory.

The Observatory said the Islamic State attacks lasted for hours and left at least 11 militants, including three suicide bombers, dead.