Al-Tanf
Al-Tanf
التَّنْف | |
|---|---|
5th SFG (A) operators in a landing zone at Al-Tanf, November 2017 | |
| Nickname: 55 KM area | |
The "55 kilometer area": Location of the base in southeastern Syria and its surrounding "deconfliction zone" | |
| Coordinates: 33°30′21″N 38°37′04″E / 33.50583°N 38.61778°E | |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq |
| Occupation | United States and Syrian Free Army |
| District | Douma |
| Region | Al-Tanf Pocket (جيب التنف) |
| Established | 3 March 2016 |
| Government | |
| • Rebel commander | Muthanna Tala (MaT) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
.svg){kind=link}
.svg){kind=link}
Al-Tanf (Arabic: التَّنْف) is a U.S. military base in a part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria, which is controlled by the Syrian Free Army. It is located 24 km (15 mi) west of the al-Walid border crossing in the Syrian Desert. The surrounding deconfliction zone is located along the Iraq–Syria border and the Jordan–Syria border. The garrison is located along a critical road known as the M2 Baghdad–Damascus Highway. The Rukban refugee camp for internally displaced Syrians is located within the deconfliction zone.
A significant United States Armed Forces and allied European presence at the outpost began in early 2016 during the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war in order to train anti-Islamic State fighters of the New Syrian Army armed opposition group, which was dissolved and reemerged as the Revolutionary Commando Army (Maghawir al-Thawra) in December 2016. As of 2025, the Al-Tanf base continues to serve as the headquarters for the Syrian Free Army and a contingent of at least 200 U.S. soldiers operating on behalf of the CJTF-OIR Coalition.