Two fighters with a US-backed Syrian militant group have been injured within the assault, the Pentagon confirmed
A number of explosives-laden drones have focused an American navy base in southern Syria, with one efficiently hitting the compound, in response to US Central Command. Washington retains simply shy of 1,000 troopers within the Center Jap nation, regardless of repeated calls for from Damascus to withdraw.
CENTCOM mentioned the assault concerned three suicide drones and occurred on Friday morning on the US garrison in al-Tanf, Syria, the place American forces have lengthy been stationed alongside militia fighters who beforehand sought to overthrow the Syrian authorities.
“Two of the drones have been shot down by Coalition Forces whereas one struck the compound, injuring two members of the Syrian Free Military associate drive who obtained medical remedy. No US forces have been injured,” the navy mentioned, including that such strikes are “unacceptable” as they “place our troops and our companions in danger and jeopardize the struggle in opposition to ISIS.”
Located close to the three-way border junction with Iraq and Syria, the al-Tanf outpost was established by US troops in 2016. They quickly embedded with a insurgent faction then often called Maghaweir al-Thowra (‘Commandos of the Revolution’), which has since rebranded to the Syrian Free Military (distinct from the previous Free Syrian Military).
Whereas Washington maintains the “vetted opposition” group is supposed to fight Islamic State terrorists and has deserted its goals to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, it has confronted controversy in current months amid allegations of corruption and drug trafficking by its members. In September, the US-led coalition was pressured to sack the group’s commander, with the navy saying the transfer “occurred to make sure the long-term success” of the militia.
The al-Tanf garrison has come underneath related drone assaults on a number of events over time, with sporadic strikes by unidentified actors. Final summer season, Russian forces – who proceed to help the federal government in Damascus – performed a number of airstrikes within the space in opposition to a gaggle of “US-trained and outfitted” militants who purportedly “had dedicated terrorist acts and killed civilians.”
Along with 200 US troopers primarily based at al-Tanf, round 700 function elsewhere in Syria, most within the nation’s oil-rich northeast, the place they’ve allied with Kurdish fighters. The Syrian authorities has repeatedly declared Washington’s navy presence unlawful, and continues to accuse US forces of stealing huge quantities of the nation’s power sources.
You may share this story on social media:
