The United States is set to close down a special forces base in Syria that has been the subject of repeated Russian complaints — and that some officials believe has helped defeat ISIS and counter Iranian influence in Syria, BuzzFeed News reported.
The base at al-Tanf near the Syrian border with Jordan was where U.S. troops have trained and fought alongside rebels there — and will be part of the drawdown of U.S. troops ordered by President Donald Trump, Muhannad al-Talla, a rebel commander at al-Tanf, told the news outlet.
Russia has objected to the U.S. presence there, with a Russian official earlier in December expressing "growing concern" about the "illegal occupation" of an approximate 34-mile zone around the base in al-Tanf, calling it "the basic source of destabilization in that part of Syria," BuzzFeed News reported.