US: Drone Attack Targets US Base in Syria, No Casualties

US soldiers walk while on patrol by the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021. (AFP)
US soldiers walk while on patrol by the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021. (AFP)
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US: Drone Attack Targets US Base in Syria, No Casualties

US soldiers walk while on patrol by the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021. (AFP)
US soldiers walk while on patrol by the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021. (AFP)

An attack with drones hit a compound run by American troops and US-backed Syrian opposition fighters in eastern Syria on Monday, the US military said, adding that there were no casualties or damage.

The military said the attack took place in the vicinity of al-Tanf base near where the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq meet. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

US and coalition troops are based at al-Tanf to train Syrian forces on patrols to counter militants from the ISIS group. The base is also located on a road serving as a vital link for Iranian-backed forces, stretching from Tehran all the way to Lebanon.

The military statement said coalition troops in coordination with opposition fighters — known as Maghaweir al-Thowra — “responded to an attack by multiple unmanned aerial systems in the vicinity of al-Tanf Garrison" on Monday morning.

It said the troops successfully engaged one of the drones preventing its impact while a second one detonated within the opposition forces' compound, “resulting in zero casualties or reported damage.” The other attempted drone strikes were not successful, it added.

Maj. Gen. John Brennan, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force, condemned the drone strike. “Such attacks put the lives of innocent Syrian civilians at risk and undermine the significant efforts by our Partner Forces to maintain the lasting defeat of ISIS,” he said.

The attack occurred hours after Israeli airstrikes on western and central Syria killed three soldiers, wounded three others and caused material damage.

A Syrian opposition war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Israeli strikes hit Syrian army positions where Iran-backed fighters are based.

Drone attacks on al-Tanf have been rare.

In October last year, US officials said they believe Iran was behind a drone attack that month in al-Tanf saying at the time that they believe that the attacks involved as many as five drones laden with explosive charges. It said the drones hit both the US side of al-Tanf garrison and the side where Syrian opposition forces stay.

The October attacks came days after an Israeli airstrike on central Syria.



Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
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Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)

A leading Druze movement said on Sunday that the issue of surrendering arms remains unresolved, even as local leaders in southern Syria announced the official start of implementing a peace agreement brokered by Druze clerics and dignitaries in Sweida province.

Bassem Abu Fakhr, spokesman for the “Rijal al-Karama” movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's weapons were solely for defense and had never been used offensively.

“The matter of handing over weapons falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and no final decision has been made yet,” Abu Fakhr said. “Our arms have never posed a threat to any party. We have not attacked anyone, and our weapons exist to protect our land and honor.”

He added that while the group does not object to regulating the presence of weapons, full surrender was out of the question.

“We have no issue with organizing arms under state authority, provided they remain within the province’s administrative boundaries and under state supervision,” he said. “But the matter of weapons remains unresolved.”

Formed in 2013, Rijal al-Karama was established to protect the Druze community and prevent its youth from being conscripted into fighting for any side in Syria’s protracted conflict, which erupted after mass protests against then President Bashar al-Assad.

The group continues to operate as an independent local defense force, separate from state security institutions.

Abu Fakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that a high-level meeting held last Thursday in Sweida—attended by senior Druze spiritual leaders Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and Sheikh Hammoud al-Hanawi, along with local dignitaries and community members—resulted in an agreement to reactivate the police and judicial police under the Ministry of Interior.

Abu Fakhr also denied recent reports claiming that Druze clerics, tribal leaders, and faction commanders had agreed to fully surrender their weapons to the state.

“This issue has not been resolved by all parties in Sweida,” he said, reiterating the group’s position: “We have no objection to organizing the weapons under state oversight, as long as they remain within the administrative boundaries of the province, but not to surrendering them.”

The statement underscores continuing tensions over the role of armed groups in Sweida, a province that has largely remained outside the control of both government and opposition forces throughout Syria’s civil war.