The US-led coalition and its proxies conducted on September 17 live drills in the 55km de-escalation zone around the southeastern Syrian area of al-Tanaf.
In an official statement, the U.S.-backed Revolutionary Commando Army said that combat helicopters participated in the drills.
“The Revolutionary Commando Army keeps the 55km safe area because of its regular exercises alongside Coalition forces using combat helicopters. The 55km area will remain safe from ISIS thanks to the efforts of Revolutionary Commando Army,” the statement reads.
Several photos released by the U.S.-backed group confirmed that AH-64 Apache attack helicopters of the coalition took part in the drills. The helicopters likely took off from one of the U.S. many airbases in nearby Jordan or Iraq.
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Last week, the Revolutionary Commando Army claimed that its fighters had repelled a Syria Arab Army (SAA) attack on the 55km de-escalation zone. A claim that was denied by several pro-government sources.
Around 200 U.S. service members and 300 fighters of the Revolutionary Commando Army are currently stationed in the al-Tanaf base, which is blocking a strategic highway linking the Iraqi capital of Baghdad with Syria’s Damascus.
