Tel Aviv: The Hezbollah in Lebanon has received instructions from Tehran to increase the attacks on US forces in Syria. The recently formed coalition aimed at enhancing the defence against Iran’s armed UAV attacks is participating in the monitoring of suspicions actions that can point to an evolving attack on the base. Israel has shared intelligence related to that act of the Iranian proxy in Lebanon with Washington.
The Hezbollah is not hiding its intentions. On July 13, 2022, Hussein Mortada, a Lebanese journalist who is identified with Hezbollah, shared “exclusive” aerial photographs on Facebook and Twitter of the US Al-Tanf military base, which is located inside territory controlled by the Syrian opposition in Homs Governorate, in southern Syria,
“At a time when there is talk of an ‘Arab NATO’ whose main base is the American Al-Tanf base in Syria, adjacent to the border between Jordan and Iraq, we are publishing exclusive photographs of this base and its contents.” The article was translated by MEMRI the Middle East Media Research Institute. The journalist also writes, “This is a clear message that all targets are in the range of the rockets and the drones. The photographs are high-quality, the drones returned [safely to base] and there are more…”
According to Mortada, recently the axis of resistance was able to photograph the base from the air, with drones, and to acquire information of a security nature about the base. “While the aerial defence measures of the American occupation didn’t intercept those drones… the accurate photographs show the location of the forces, a training base, a helicopter pad and most important of all – communications devices and surveillance equipment which were set up at the base.” Mortada further states that the base also supplies intelligence data to “the Israeli occupation entity,” and hosts “visits from generals of the American occupation [forces] who meet there with the commanders of several terrorist cells who cooperate with them, even at the current time, in southern Syria.”
Mortada’s report corroborate the noticeable increase in the past year in the use of drones by the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria.
According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the military base in south Syria was established in 2016 at the intersection of the country’s borders with Jordan and Iraq. Al-Tanf Garrison (ATG) is home to more than a hundred US service members. The base is used to continue operations against the Islamic State (IS) and disrupt the activities of Iranian proxies in Syria. It also serves as leverage in the long-running negotiations over the country’s future. ATG’s status is not permanent, however, and the recent attack underscores why the Biden administration should chart a course soon for the future of America’s local military presence.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
