Russian Fighter Jets Flew 25 Times Over Syria’s Al-Tanf Base In March: U.S. General
A Russian Su-24 strike aircraft in the sky over the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Photo: Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti
Russian fighter jets have flown over a United States military garrison in the southeastern Syrian area of al-Tanf nearly every day in March, Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, combined forces air component commander for U.S. Central Command, told NBC News on March 23.
According to the commander, Russian fighter jets “violated” the airspace over al-Tanf roughly 25 times so far this month, compared to zero times in February and 14 in January.
Su-34s were among the Russian fighter jets that recently flew over al-Tanf garrison. Some of the fighter jets were reportedly carrying air-to-air missiles, while others were carrying air-to-ground munitions.
“They’re regularly flying directly overhead of our units, and I’ve defined directly overhead, as within about a mile, no more than a mile offset one side or the other, while we’ve got forces right there on the ground at ATG,” said Grynkewich. “So it’s an uncomfortable situation.”
Grynkewich told NBC News that he does not think the Russians have any incentive to attack al-Tanf. “But it just increases the risk of miscalculation, and given things like the MQ-9 incident in the Black Sea, it’s not the kind of behavior that I’d expect out of a professional Air Force.”
Around 200 U.S. troops are usually deployed at al-Tanf. The U.S.-led coalition maintains a 55-kilometer no-fly zone around the garrison that was established in 2016 on a strategic highway linking Damascus and Iraq’s Baghdad with the alleged goal of fighting ISIS.
Syria and its allies have been growing frustrated with U.S. illegitimate presence at al-Tanf. During his recent visit to Russia, President Bashar al-Assad told Sputnik that the coalition has turned the garrison into a bastion for terrorists.
“We are in a state of direct confrontation with terrorist groups near the area of al-Tanf. Al-Tanf serves entirely as a base for training terrorists, and has no purpose other than that. What benefits do American forces drive from their deployment in the desert region?” the Syrian president told the Russian news agency.
He added, “There is no doubt that the U.S. has barracks for terrorists, where tens of thousands of them and their families are accommodated. They are transferred between different areas from time to time in order to carry out terror attacks against Syrian army soldiers, and cause chaos. We are quite sure of these moves, and have abundant pieces of evidence in this regard.”
Last year, Russian fighter jets hit U.S. proxies in al-Tanf and in nearby areas on multiple occasions in response to attacks that targeted Syrian government forces.
Al-Tanf was also directly targeted by Iranian-backed forces more than once over the past year. On January 20, three suicide drones attacked the garrison. Two of the drones were shot down by coalition air defenses. However, the third hit a compound within the garrison. The attack wounded at least three Syrian militants.
The recent increase in Russian sorties over al-Tanf is likely meant to mount more pressure on the U.S. as well as to keep an eye on coalition proxies in the garrison.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC:
The post Russian Fighter Jets Flew 25 Times Over Syria’s Al-Tanf Base In March: U.S. General appeared first on South Front.