US-led coalition thwart a drone attack near At-Tanf base in Syria

• US-led coalition repels several drone attacks near At-Tanf base in Syria.
• One drone exploded within a base utilised by Maghaweir al-Thowra partner troops.
• Local militias supported by Iran regularly attack US forces in Syria and Iraq.

According to a coalition news release, US-led coalition forces on Monday successfully fought off several drone attacks close to the alliance’s At-Tanf base in Syria.

According to a statement from Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition fighting to overthrow the remnants of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the attempted attack had no adverse effects.

All except one of the drone attacks that were launched near the At-Tanf base were repulsed by US-led coalition forces. According to the announcement, one drone exploded within a base utilised by Maghaweir al-Thowra partner troops with “zero casualties or reported damage.”

“We have confidence in our ability to protect our troops and Coalition partners from attacks from the air,” Col. Joe Buccino, director of public affairs for United States Central Command said in the release. “Our countermeasures are effective.”

According to the announcement, coalition troops “successfully engaged one” drone and “prevented its impact.” The announcement added that other drone strikes “were not successful.”

Who was in charge of the drone attacks was not disclosed by Operation Inherent Resolve. However, local militias supported by Iran have regularly attacked US forces in Syria and Iraq.

The strike undercuts the “substantial efforts by our Partner Forces to preserve the durable defeat of ISIS,” according to Maj. Gen. John Brennan, head of the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve.

Such attacks endanger the lives of innocent Syrian people and undercut the substantial efforts made by our Partner Forces to keep ISIS defeated for good, according to Brennan. “We will take the necessary precautions to safeguard our forces,” the coalition stated. “Coalition personnel retain the right to self-defense.”

The majority of the US’s 900 troops in Syria are stationed at the At-Tanf facility and in the nation’s eastern oil regions.

The installation is located within a 20-square-mile deconfliction zone close to the Syrian-Jordanian border that was set up by Russia and the US-led coalition to minimise unintentional engagement between the two sides.

US forces and ISIS, which has a presence there, have fought fiercely in the region in recent years.

As a result of indirect fire posing what a US-led coalition official described as “an imminent threat” to troops close to Green Village, a facility in the country’s east close to the Iraqi border, the US military launched attacks in Syria in January.

The US continues to see threats to US soldiers in the region from Iranian-backed militias, according to then-Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, even if there was no precise attribution for the indirect fire.

At a news conference in January, Kirby stated, “There have been acts committed by some of these groups in just the last few days that validate the consistent concerns that we’ve had over the safety and security of our people.”

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