U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, attached to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, Crisis Response-Central Command, engage targets during a live-fire demonstration near At-Tanf Garrison, Syria, Sept, 7, 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carlos Lopez)
The US-led coalition and its proxy, the Revolutionary Commando Army (MaT), have held another joint live-fire exercise in the southeastern Syrian area of al-Tanf where they maintain a large garrison.
In the course of the exercise, MaT fighters fired heavy machine guns and mortars while US troops launched several rockets from two M142 HIMARS system. Footage from the exercise were released on November 28.
Joint exercises between the @MaghaweirThowra and the #US_forces, using ground and air units to increase interoperability.
#Rukban #Syria #Defeat_Daesh #Al_Tanf #altanf @SOJTF_LEVANT @OIRSpox @CJTFOIR pic.twitter.com/8220INelDt— مغاوير الثورة (@MaghaweirThowra) November 28, 2021
Around 200 US troops and 300 MaT fighters are usually deployed at al-Tanf garrison that was established in 2016. The US-led coalition maintains a 55 kilometers no-fly, no-drive zone around the garrison.
This was the second live fire exercise to be held by the US-led coalition and the MaT at al-Tanf in November. The first exercise took place during the first week of the month.
These live-fire exercises are likely meant to deter Iran and its allies in Syria and Iraq, who were accused of orchestrating the October 20 attack on al-Tanf garrison. The attack resulted in some serious material damage. However, there were no casualties.
While the US claims that its military presence in al-Tanf is meant to counter ISIS, the truth is that Washington is keeping troops at the area in order to block a strategic highway that links the Syrian capital, Damascus, with Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
Those HIMARS seems to be loaded with six artillery rockets M26, M30/M31. M26 has a maximum range of 45km.