© Aboud Hamam / Reuters
Unknown forces have attacked the Al-Tanf base housing US military advisers in a rebel-held area of Syria near its border with Iraq, the US-led coalition has said. The coalition forces returned fire and suffered no casualties.
"Maghawir al-Thowra fighters and coalition advisers within the deconfliction zone near Al-Tanf were engaged by an unidentified hostile force located just outside the deconfliction zone in the early evening June 21," the coalition spokesperson
told Sputnik news agency in an email.
The statement added that officials were "engaged with Russian counterparts on the deconfliction line to ensure no miscalculations."
The skirmish was acknowledged by the US forces
amid media reports of the Syrian troops "encircling" the Al-Tanf base after securing large chunks of the Badia desert region along the Iraqi border. The base near the Al-Tanf border crossing was established by the US-led coalition
to train and support anti-government militias, purportedly to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists. The major IS-held areas, however, have long been cut off from Al-Tanf by Syrian government troops, and remaining terrorists have largely been cleared from the area.
Comment: According to the Pentagon, the fighting took place outside the "deconfliction zone", and SOHR says 8 Syrian soldiers were killed in the attack. As Moon of Alabama
writes:
There is some footage of a desert chase with "technicals" that is supposed to be from these clashes. They took place in al-Halba, 70 kilometers northwest of al-Tanf and only 50 kilometers from Palmyra.
The U.S. sent "rebels" it trains at al-Tanf outside its self declared 55 kilometers deconfliction zone around Tanf to attack Syrian government forces. It supported them by air strikes. U.S. special forces are said to have taken part. This is likely the case as only U.S. special forces can call in such airstrikes.
It seems obvious that the U.S. is using ISIS, U.S. trained "Maghawhir al-Thawra" rebels, and its air power in another attempt to cut the land route between Syria and Iraq. It wants to use the upcoming Syrian campaign against al-Qaeda and ISIS in the southwest around Daraa to make a new move in the east.
The Syrian Army is reportedly moving to block al-Tanf from 3 directions. This comes as the SAA prepares to
retake Daraa:
With the direct participation of the officers of the Russian Center for the reconciliation of the warring parties, negotiations continue with the units of the Free Syrian Army to renounce armed resistance and settle their status. Thus, the commanders of the two FSA units Abu-Qusayr and Omar es-Suweidi, stationed at the border of the provinces of Essaouira and Dara, decided to transfer their settlements to government troops.
There was information that against the backdrop of progress in the negotiation process in the southern zone of de-escalation, the Syrian command decided to redirect the units of the "Tiger Forces" Brig. Gen. Suheil Hasan to sweep of desert area to the north-east of the city of Essaouira, where loose ISIS units remain.
In recent weeks, there have been skirmishes with terrorists, but this did not lead to full-scale fighting, contrary to reports from several media and bloggers.
Sputnik
reports that the Omari Brigades have switched their allegiances in favor of the government:
"On June 22, after talks between the representatives of the Russian reconciliation center and the Syrian authorities with the militants of the Free Syrian Army in the Southern zone of de-escalation, the leader of the Tajammu al-Wiyat al-Omari [Omari Brigades] announced that his group is siding with the Syrian government," the center said in a statement.
According to the statement, the Omari Brigades leader also stressed that his group will fight against militants from Nusra Front and Daesh together with the Syrian army in the south of the country.
"By Friday evening, the first units of the Syrian army entered the settlements of Dama and Ashiyah in the Southern zone of de-escalation," the document said.
South Front reports:
What is the Russians' response?
Translation: fat chance, America.
Comment: Russia is right to be concerned about NATO: