US troops in northeast Syria Wednesday confronted regime loyalists with an air strike and live fire after one of their patrols came under attack near the city of Qamishli, a war monitor said. American forces killed one regime loyalist in the rare clash in the regime-held village of Khirbet Amo, east of Qamishli, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an AFP correspondent in the area. US warplanes launched one strike before the confrontation ended with the American convoy pulling out of the area, the monitor and the correspondent said. dls-rh/ho/fz