Iraqi Group Claims Responsibility For Drone Attack On U.S. Al-Tanf Base In Syria, Shares Footage
A shadowy Iraqi armed group that is thought to be affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed responsibility for the January 20 drone attack on the United States-led coalition’s al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria.
In a statement released on January 21, the group, which calls itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – al-Warithin Formation, said that the attack was a response to the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Deputy-Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, and Commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, Qassim Soleimani. The two leaders were killed in a U.S. drone strike near the airport of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, more than three years ago.
The al-Warithin claimed that the U.S.-led coalition is commanding some of its military operations within Iraq from al-Tanf garrison.
Around 200 U.S. troops are usually deployed at al-Tanf. The coalition maintains a 55-kilometers around the garrison, which block a strategic highway between Baghdad and the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Three days after the release of the statement, on January 24, al-Warithin released footage documenting the attack on the garrison. The footage showed the launch of three suicide drone of the al-Qassim type, a copy of Iran’s Ababil-2, from an unspecified desert area.
The U.S. Central Command said that two of the drones were shot down near al-Tanf, while the third managed to hit a compound within the garrison. The attack wounded two fighters of the Army of Free Syria, the coalition main proxy group in al-Tanf. However, no U.S. troops were harmed.
Very little is known about al-Warithin. Last year, the group attacked Ali Al Salem Air Base in central Kuwait, where U.S. troops are known to be deployed. Al-Qassim type suicide drones were also used in the attack, which resulted in material losses.
The U.S. is not apparently planning to respond to the attack on al-Tanf garrison, likely to avoid a new confrontation with Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq.
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