Russian Airstrikes Halt Advances of Assad Opponents in Southeastern Syria

Syrian rebels supported by the West reported on Wednesday, June 10, that they were attacked by Russian fighter jets while advancing against Iranian-backed militants in the desert areas of southeastern Syria. According to Reuters, the armed opponents of Bashar al-Assad's government added that six Russian fighter jets bombed their positions as they advanced towards the 'Zaza' checkpoint near the Damascus-Baghdad highway and the border area with Iraq and Jordan. They explained why they believed Russian military aircraft targeted their positions, stating that the six jets flew in a regular formation at a higher altitude, making it clear that they were Russian jets and not Syrian army planes. Saad al-Haj, a spokesman for 'Jish al-Sud' (Eastern Army), one of the main Syrian rebel groups in the area, told Reuters: 'After we broke the first line of defense of the Iranian-backed militants and took an offensive position, a Russian air squadron bombed our positions to prevent our advance.' According to Reuters, the desert areas of southeastern Syria have become one of the key fronts in the country's civil war, with each side competing for control over areas liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS). Saad al-Haj stated that one member of Jish al-Sud was killed in this airstrike. Sayyid Saif, from the 'Martyrs of Ahmad Abdo' rebel group, also mentioned that during the rebels' attack on the positions of Iranian-backed Shiite militants, Russian fighter jets targeted their positions. The Syrian army and its allied Shiite militants captured this checkpoint and the small town of al-Sab' Biyar earlier this month to prevent the Free Syrian Army, supported by the West, from seizing strategic areas previously held by ISIS. Reuters noted that international coalition fighter jets against ISIS, led by the United States, attacked these militants about two weeks ago as they advanced towards Tanf, south of the Zaza checkpoint and a base near the Jordan border where American personnel train Free Syrian Army forces. American officials stated that this militia force is considered a threat to American forces and the Free Syrian Army in the region. According to the report, these militants, who are said to be mostly Iraqi Shiites, were forced to retreat to their positions around the Zaza checkpoint, and the international coalition warned them to maintain a distance of 50 kilometers from the coalition base in the border area with Jordan. The U.S.-backed Syrian rebels recaptured Tanf from ISIS last year, and intelligence and security sources say this base was intended to be used as an operational center for liberating Abu Kamal, a city on the Syria-Iraq border that is one of ISIS's key supply routes. Security sources noted that another goal of the international coalition's presence in Tanf was to prevent the opening of a land corridor between Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militants.