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Assad Allies Threaten to Hit US Forces in Syria | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Smoke rises after shelling on a rebel-held area of Daraa, Syria, June 4, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir


Assad Allies Threaten to Hit US Forces in Syria

by | Jun 8, 2017 | Middle East |

Assad Allies Threaten to Hit US Forces in Syria

Beirut- Allies of Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad and Iran on Wednesday released vociferous statements, threatening to target US military bases in Syria.

The anger comes following an attack staged by US forces against pro-regime fighters near the Tanf border crossing in southeastern Syria.

The statement from the “allies of Syria” said attacks on US forces could be carried out with “different missile and military systems, in the light of the deployment of American forces in the region”.

The threats mark an escalation of tensions between the US and the Syrian regime and its backers over control of Syria’s southeastern frontier with Iraq, where Washington has been training Syrian rebels at a base inside Syrian territory as part of its campaign against the terror group ISIS.

It said that the silence of “the allies of Syria” thus far was “an exercise in self-restraint” to allow for “other solutions”.

“This will not last if America goes further, and crosses the red lines,” it added.

In an apparent message to show the capabilities of Damascus-backer Iran, Hezbollah aired what it said was footage taken undetected by an Iranian unmanned aircraft of a US drone flying over southeastern Syria.

The area is seen as crucial to Assad’s Iranian allies and could open an overland supply route from Tehran to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon – the “Shi’ite crescent” of Iranian influence that is a major concern to US-allies in the region.

Battlefield developments taking place in the Yarmouk area, situated in rural western Daraa region, showed that international efforts are completely invested in dislodging extremists and ISIS terrorists based in southern Syria and clear their presence near the Jordanian border.

A statement published by ISIS revealed that warplanes of the US-led international coalition bombarded the ISIS headquarters in Yarmouk, killing four elite leaders and 12 other members.

Furthermore, information indicated that the coalition air strikes targeted the building of the group’s self-styled legal court, located in al-Shagara town, west of Daraa city.