The Russian military says the United States continues to support acts of terror and sabotage by allied Takfiri terrorists operating at the al-Tanf region in southern Syria to justify its illegal military deployment in the war-torn Arab country.
“Through their actions, the terrorists disrupt the process of socio-economic reconstruction of Syria and the establishment of relations between local Arab tribes and the Damascus government. Such a situation primarily benefits the United States, and allows it to justify its presence in the country's east,” Russia’s Sputnik news agency quoted an unnamed spokesman for Russian forces in Syria as saying on Tuesday.
The spokesman then attributed a recent uptick in terrorist attacks in the Syrian Desert – a vast region covering 55 percent of the land area of Syria – to an amnesty program by US-sponsored Kurdish-militants.
“Over the past month, the Syrian Desert has seen a significant increase in the activity of militants consisting of former Daesh terrorists. Most of these militants showed up in the area after the so-called Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria declared an amnesty program,” he pointed out.
“Militants are destabilizing situation in the region through disruption of transport and communications, acts of sabotage against Syrian oil and gas installations, and attacks on Syrian army units and posts," the spokesman said.
“On August 18, senior Russian military advisor Major General Vyacheslav Gladkikh was killed in the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by terrorists in [Syria’s eastern] Dayr al-Zawr province,” the spokesman added.
He noted that Russian forces and Syrian government troops have launched a major clean-up operation in the Syrian Desert to purge the region of the last remnants of terrorist outfits, emphasizing that the offensive will continue until US-backed militant groups in the area are fully annihilated.
The operation has so far resulted in the elimination of 327 militants, 134 terrorist hideouts, 17 observation posts, seven warehouses as well as five underground arms depots, the official said.
Back in mid-May, a number of captured members of the Daesh terrorist group confessed to close cooperation with US military forces stationed at al-Tanf base to carry out various acts of terror and sabotage.
During confessions broadcast on Syria’s state-run television network at the time, three extremists revealed that they were instructed by American forces to target Syrian government troops in and around the ancient city of Palmyra, the Tiyas Military Airbase – also known as the T-4 Airbase, the Shaer gas field as well as nearby oil wells, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported back then.
Two troops injured as joint Russian-Turkish convoy comes under fire in Syria’s Idlib
Also on Tuesday, two Russian servicemen were slightly injured after a patrol, jointly manned by Russian and Turkish soldiers, was targeted by militants that struck an infantry vehicle with an anti-tank rocket in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.
Russia's Reconciliation Center in Syria said in a statement that the ambush took place as the convoy was traveling along the M4 highway, which runs between Aleppo and Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.
The Russian military assistance, which comes at the official request of the Syrian government, has effectively helped the national army recapture key areas from foreign-backed militant groups.
The Russian Air Force has been providing air cover to Syria’s liberation operations on the ground.
Moscow’s contingent of ground forces in Syria is comprised of military police tasked with delivering humanitarian aid, helping Syrian armed forces deal with terrorists, and preventing clashes between government troops and Turkish forces illegally deployed to the Arab country’s north.