 |
| US Army and East Syrian Opposition Forces |
Lebanon - A drone strike hit a compound run by US forces and US-backed Syrian opposition fighters in eastern Syria on Monday (15/8/2022). There were no casualties or damage from this attack. As reported by the AP, the US military said the attack took place in the vicinity of the Al-Tanf base near the confluence of the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
No party has claimed responsibility for the attack. US and coalition forces are based in Al-Tanf to train Syrian troops in patrols against militants from the Daesh group (ISIS).
The base is also located on a road that serves as an important link for Iranian-backed forces, stretching from Tehran to Lebanon. The military statement said coalition forces coordinated with opposition fighters known as Maghaweir Al-Thowra "in response to an attack by several unmanned aerial systems in the vicinity of Al-Tanf Garrison" on Monday morning.
US forces managed to attack one of the drones preventing its impact. Meanwhile a second drone exploded inside the compound of the opposition forces, "resulting in zero casualties or reported damage". Another drone strike attempt was unsuccessful, the report added.
Major General John Brennan, commander of the Joint Task Force, condemned the drone strike. "Such attacks put the lives of innocent Syrian civilians at risk and undermine the significant efforts of our Partner Forces to maintain the lasting defeat of ISIS," Brennan said.
The attack came hours after Israeli air strikes in western and central Syria killed three soldiers, injured three others and caused material damage. A Syrian opposition war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Israeli strikes hit Syrian army positions where Iranian-backed fighters are based.
In October last year, US officials said they believed Iran was behind that month's drone attack on Al-Tanf. It was reported at the time that they believed the attack involved as many as five drones laden with explosives.