WASHINGTON — U.S.-backed Syrian fighters operating out of a small U.S. garrison called Tanf killed more than 20 Islamic State fighters and captured several others on Wednesday.
This is the second time in less than a month that ISIS fighters have threatened the small U.S. outpost near the Iraq-Syria border, which houses American commandos who are training and advising vetted Syrian opposition fighters known as the Maghawir al-Thawra.
American officials took a jab at Russian and Syrian regime forces operating in the vicinity of Tanf on Thursday after the incident.
“The Daesh terrorists freely moved through an area controlled by pro-Syrian regime forces,” a press release from Operation Inherent Resolve said. “This is the second time in less than a month that convoys of Daesh terrorists, fleeing the middle Euphrates River valley, transited through regime-controlled territory.”
“Despite the presence of Russian-backed, pro-Syrian regime forces in the area, Daesh still finds ways to move freely through the regime lines and pose a threat, said Brig. Gen. John Braga, director of operations for Operation Inherent Resolve.
Pro-Syrian regime forces currently surround the U.S. garrison, complicating anti-ISIS operations for the U.S.-backed fighters at the garrison. Those Syrian forces are situated outside a 55-kilometer bubble that extends around the outpost.
The region around Tanf has been hotly contested. During the summer, U.S. forces struck pro-regime Syrian forces on several occasions after they encroached on the established deconfliction zone around the base. One of those occasions included the downing of an Iranian Shahed 129 drone.
