File image.
Russian warplanes have carried out airstrikes against a militant hideout located near the United States-led coalition garrison in the southeastern Syrian area of al-Tanf.
Video footage of the Russian airstrikes surfaced online on August 3. However, it is still unclear when exactly the airstrikes took place. The coalition and Syrian opposition media didn’t report any attack on the garrison or nearby areas in recent days.
Around 200 U.S. troops are usually deployed at al-Tanf, along with hundreds of militants from a proxy group known as the Syrian Free Army. The coalition maintains a 55-kilometer no-fly zone around al-Tanf. Despite this, Russian fighter jets conduct armed patrols over the garrison on a regular basis.
The U.S. claims that it is present in al-Tanf to counter ISIS. However, the real purpose of the garrison is to block the strategic Damascus-Baghdad highway. In addition, the garrison is reportedly being used as an outpost to collect intelligence and facilitate Israeli attacks against Syria.
Several waves of Russian and Syrian airstrikes hit al-Tanf and nearby areas last month, according to unverified reports. Syrian and Russian troops also held a joint chemical defense exercise near the U.S.-controlled area.
Tensions between Russian and U.S. forces in Syria have been on the rise for a few months. In May, Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, accused the U.S. of training ISIS terrorists in al-Tanf on sabotage. Later in June, Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president’s special envoy for Syria, said that the coalition was strengthening its military contingent in the garrison and other parts of Syria.
The recent Russian and Syrian airstrikes on al-Tanf are likely meant to deter U.S. proxies, who may be planning to launch an insurgency from the region.
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