Commander of Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Visits Al-Tanf Base After Drones’ Attack

Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)
Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)
TT
20

Commander of Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Visits Al-Tanf Base After Drones’ Attack

Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)
Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) revealed that an official from the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS held talks with leaders from the FSA on military coordination between both sides.

This comes days after a drones-attack that targeted the Al-Tanf base.

The talks held by Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, reflects “joint efforts to secure a lasting defeat of ISIS and to work towards a better future for the region,” according to a statement issued by the Free Syrian Army.

“The meeting discussed joint cooperation and coordination in military affairs, particularly in training and arming,” added the statement.

Three one-way attack drones targeted the Al-Tanf military base in southeastern Syria, according to a statement issued on January 20 by the US Central Command (CENTCOM).

CENTCOM noted that two of the drones were shot down by Coalition Forces while one struck the compound, injuring two members of an opposition Syrian faction.

The US forces did not accuse any party of the attack, AFP reported.

“Attacks of this kind are unacceptable – they place our troops and our partners at risk,” said Joe Buccino, CENTCOM spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) suggested that the drones belonged to pro-Iranian groups, explaining that the two injured belonged to the Free Syrian Army which is a US-backed opposition faction active in the Al-Tanf area.

The international coalition forces brought a new convoy to the northeast of Syria, coming from Kurdistan-Iraq region through “Al-Waled” border crossing in Al-Hasakah countryside.

The convoy comprises 40 trucks carrying closed wooden boxes, logistic equipment, and fuel tanks, and headed towards the coalition bases in Al-Hasakah, according to SOHR.

The Observatory added that on January 15, the international coalition forces brought in new military reinforcements, including armored vehicles and fuel tankers, via the Al-Walid border crossing towards its military base in Al-Shaddadi town.



Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza as Trucks Reach Border for Rare Fuel Delivery

Women and children look out from a damaged building as Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, August 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Women and children look out from a damaged building as Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, August 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
TT
20

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza as Trucks Reach Border for Rare Fuel Delivery

Women and children look out from a damaged building as Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, August 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Women and children look out from a damaged building as Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, August 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Six more people died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said, underlining the enclave's humanitarian emergency as Egyptian state TV said two trucks were set to make a rare delivery of fuel on Sunday.

The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said, Reuters reported.

Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread.

Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. There was no immediate confirmation whether the fuel trucks had indeed entered Gaza.

Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid and goods into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas militants to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel.

Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international outcry, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

United Nations agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the war-devastated territory where starvation has been spreading.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said 35 trucks have entered Gaza since June, nearly all of them in July.

LOOTED AID TRUCKS

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs.

More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive.

Palestinian local health authorities said at least 40 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said.

Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at their headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building.