 |
| Western intelligence sources told Reuters that US and British special forces are expanding the Tanf base to oust Islamic State militants from the eastern province of Deir Zor, that straddles Iraq, from the south east of Syria (credit: BBC) |
The US military carried out an air strike on Thursday against militia supported by the Syrian government that posed a threat to US and US-backed Syrian fighters in the countryโs south, US officials told Reuters on Thursday.
The militia, who numbered in the dozens and drove a tank and a small number of construction vehicles, ignored warning shots from US aircraft and, according to a US-led coalition statement, even โapparent Russian attempts to dissuadeโ their advance.
One of the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, speculated that the group might have been trying to establish a position near the garrison in Syria used by US and US-backed forces around the town of At Tanf.
โThey were potentially probing to see how close they could get to At Tanf,โ the official said.
A member of the US-backed Syrian rebel forces told Reuters the convoy was comprised of Syrian and Iranian-backed militias and was headed toward the Tanf base when they clashed with some rebel forces.
The militia were struck after they had advanced to about 27km from the base.
โWe notified the coalition that we were being attacked by the Syrian army and Iranians in this point, and the coalition came and destroyed the advancing convoy,โ said Muzahem al Saloum of the Maghawir al Thwra group.
Since they appeared defensive in nature, Thursdayโs strikes did not suggest a shift in the US militaryโs focus in Syria, which has been on battling Islamic State militants.
UNDER PRESSURE
But the latest move showed that the area around the Tanf garrison in southern Syria could be under pressure.
Tanf is part of a region known as the Badia, which consists of vast, sparsely populated desert territory that stretches all the way to the Jordanian and Iraqi borders and was declared a military priority by Syriaโs foreign minister earlier in May.
Two months of US-backed rebel advances against Islamic State militants have allowed them to secure swaths of territory in the Badia, alarming the Syrian government and its allies.
But rebel sources had warned last week that the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militia moved hundreds of troops with tanks to the town of Sabaa Biyar, which is in the Badia, and is near the strategic Damascus-Baghdad highway.
That highway was once a major weapons supply route for Iranian weapons into Syria.
The US-led coalition did not signal it would cede ground around Tanf.
โCoalition forces have been operating in the At Tanf area for many months training and advising vetted partner forces engaged in the fight against Isis,โ according to a statement by the US-led coalition, using an acronym for Islamic State.
US officials said an agreement existed with Russia on a so-called โdeconflictionโ area around Tanf garrison, meant to avoid an accidental clash of forces.
The statement by the US-led coalition acknowledged a zone but did not offer any details about it, other than to say it was still active.
โThe agreed upon de-confliction zone agreement remains in effect,โ the statement said.
A commander in the alliance fighting in support of Assad called the strike a โwarning raid,โ adding it was not aimed at causing casualties but instead stopping the advance.
Still, the strikes would be the first against fighters aligned with Syriaโs government since the United States launched cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base in April.
The April strikes were ordered in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that Washington blamed on Damascus, and were described as a one-off measure to deter any future chemical weapons use.
