The Imam Ali military base is an Iranian

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

base located near the eastern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n town of

Abu Kamal Abu Kamal ( ar, أَبُو كَمَال, ʾAbū Kamāl) or Al-Bukamal ( ar, ٱلْبُوكَمَال, al-Būkamāl) is a city on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of eastern Syria near the border with Iraq. It is the administrat ...

, near the border with

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

History

The base has been constantly undergoing construction since early 2018. ''Fox News'' reported on 4 September 2019 that a "classified Iranian project", the Imam Ali military base, was being constructed near Abu Kamal, which was confirmed by satellite images. The project was approved by the top leadership in Tehran and is being completed by the Iranian

Quds Force The Quds Force ( fa, نیروی قدس, niru-ye qods, Jerusalem Force) is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War ...

. On 9 September 2019, reports emerged that "Iranian" or "Iranian-backed militias" had been targeted in airstrikes, which appeared to be similar to a June 2018 airstrike that targeted a

Kata'ib Hezbollah Kata'ib Hezbollah ( ar, كتائب حزب الله, lit=Battalions of the Party of God)—or the Hezbollah Battalions—is a radical Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces backed by Iran. During the Ir ...

base at a similar location. Satellite imagery taken by

ImageSat International Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) is a series of Israeli commercial Earth observation satellites, designed and manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), with optical payload supplied by El-Op. The satellites are owned and operat ...

in late 2019 suggests a tunnel system is being built, which Western intelligence sources believe will hold missiles. The site has been struck multiple times by the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

after which the construction of tunnels was noticed to have accelerated, and would soon be operational, as of November 2019. The site was struck again on 25 February 2021 by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in retaliation for multiple rocket attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq ten days earlier, and became the first known offensive military operation carried out under

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Joe Biden. On 28 June 2021, another

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

targeted the base, which left at least nine Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters dead and many others injured, according to

SOHR , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...

References

{{Reflist 2019 establishments in Syria Military installations of Iran Iranian involvement in the Syrian civil war Deir ez-Zor Governorate in the Syrian civil war

History

See also

References