Pentagon confirms the closure of one of its military bases in Syria
The coalition led by the United States as part of the campaign against the Islamic State opened several military bases in Syria and Iraq, some of which have already been closed, as stated by the Pentagon in response to a question by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
"Throughout Syria and Iraq, the coalition has opened and closed several bases, as required by the operational situation, in order to ensure effective support of our partners' forces. The decision to create and close temporary bases is determined by the requirements of the operational situation and the course of the campaign," said Pentagon spokesman, Adrian Rankine-Galloway, in an interview with RIA Novosti.
The representative of the agency commented on media reports that stated that the U.S. military had left the Al-Zkuf base in southern Syria as part of its agreement with Russia to create de-escalation zones in the Arab Republic.
"Regarding the zones of de-escalation, I would advise you to contact the State Department. The Ministry of Defense of the USA concentrates on the military defeat of the ISIS," said Rankine-Galloway.
At the same time, he confirmed that the U.S. maintains its presence at the At Tanf base (70 kilometers south-west of the Al-Zkuf base, near the border with Iraq and Jordan).
"The coalition and partner forces continue to operate in At Tanf. The coalition continues its mission of training partner forces in the border region as part of its campaign to defeat ISIS throughout Syria and Iraq. For more than a year, coalition forces in the At Tanf area continue to train the MaT for participation in counter-terrorism operations against ISIS," the source said.
The abbreviation MaT in the Pentagon stands for the grouping of the Syrian opposition called Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra, which is part of the so-called Revolutionary Commando Army (previously called the New Syrian Army).
In addition to the base in the At Tanf area, the U.S. coalition (which is mainly the U.S. Special Forces) supports the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the provinces of Raqqa, Al-Hasakah, and Deir ez-Zor.
The backbone and leadership of the SDF consists of detachments of Kurdish self-defense forces, which are now conducting an offensive on the city of Raqqa. Special "conflict prevention zones" have been established in these areas in order to avoid clashes between the USA-backed forces and the Syrian governmental forces, supported by the Russian military.
Recently, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, there were several recorded cases Syrian army units being bombed by the SDF. The Pentagon also stated that the SDF fell under fire from Syrian government forces.