A Russian Su-24 strike aircraft in the sky over the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Photo: Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti
Warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) had destroyed two hideouts used by militants who came from an area controlled by United States forces in central Syria, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria announced on June 4.
“The Russian aerospace forces destroyed two places of the deployment of militants who left the al-Tanf area and were hiding in hard-to-reach areas of the al-Amur ridge in the Homs governorate,” Major General Yury Popov said in a briefing.
On the same day, video footage surfaced online showing what appears to be the strikes reported by the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria.
Around 200 U.S. troops are usually deployed at garrison in 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, VKS warplanes fly over the garrison on a regular basis.
This was the second wave of Russian strikes to hit militants linked to the U.S. in central Syria in less than a week. The first was reported on June 2.
Attacks on government forces in the central region increased in recent months, with ISIS still in the lead of the years-long insurgency in the region.
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.
Syrian and Russian officials have repeatedly accused U.S. forces in al-Tanf of training and even arming terrorists, including members of ISIS.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
