US Strengthens Presence in Northern Syria

Rasa - A senior representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that the United States continues to actively strengthen its military presence in Northern Syria.

News ID: 430801

Date: 05 July 2017 - 23:42

RNA - "The US is setting up its military bases in the territories that were liberated from Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) by our fighters during the fight against terrorism,” the source on condition of anonymity told Sputnik.

He further stressed that earlier the US set up their bases in Kobani, Manbij, Hasakah, al-Shadadi and al-Hawl.

“Now they have set up a base in the region of the recently liberated Tabaqa near the reservoir of the same name. This base will be actively used in autumn in the framework of the Raqqa operation and also in the Deir Ezzur operation,” the source said.

As noted by the representative, the number of US military bases in Syria, taking into account the newly established base in Tabaqa, has increased to eight.

According to the source, in the future the US intends to continue increasing its number of bases in the country.

Russia and Iran are the only foreign powers which have been authorized by the Syrian government to wage war against terrorist groups within the country.

As Washington has increased its military movement in the recent months, a Syrian fighter jet engaged in operations against the ISIL in Raqqa was downed by the US-led coalition warplane mid June.

It was not the first time that the US-led intervention in Syria has led to standoffs and violence against pro-government forces.

As Washington claims that it fights against the ISIL group, US warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea at the Shayrat airfield in Homs province on April 7, following a chemical weapons incident in Idlib province which the Western countries blamed on the Damascus government.

The Syrian government has fiercely denied using or even possessing chemical weapons since the country’s compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention was certified by international observers in 2013, as the world is still waiting for the US and its allies to provide any proof for its claims of Bashar al-Assad government involvement in the alleged chemical attack.

Also on May 18, the US-led coalition struck pro-Bashar Assad forces near al-Tanf in the area of an established de-confliction zone. The coalition air raids occurred near al-Tanf, where US' and British special operations forces have been training militants near the border with Iraq and Jordan.

On June 6, the Pentagon announced the coalition conducted a new strike on pro-Syrian government forces as they entered the de-confliction zone with Russia and posed threat to its personnel. The force comprised of a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles and more than 60 soldiers. At least two Syrian servicemen were killed and more than 15 injured as a result of the attack.

On June 8, the US-led coalition bombed pro-Damascus forces near al-Tanf in the area of a de-confliction zone following an alleged attack by a combat drone resulting in no coalition forces' casualties. This was the third attack by the coalition on Damascus' allies in the area. The coalition targeted a drone and trucks with weapons.

Furthermore, on September 16, US-led coalition aircraft carried out four strikes against the Syrian Army near the Deir Ezzur airport, killing nearly 100 people.

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