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US-Led Coalition Denies Militants Operate Base Near Syria's Al-Tanf

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria denies allegations that a Syrian militant group has set up training camps near the United States' military base in Syria's al-Tanf, a spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Sputnik

"There is no terrorist camp within the al-Tanf de-confliction zone, which runs in a 55k diameter around the Coalition's al-Tanf Garrison," the spokesperson said when asked about the militants' allegations.

READ MORE: Daesh-Linked Terror Groups Seen in Syrian al-Tanf Controlled by US — Lavrov

The spokesperson called the allegations regarding a terrorist camp near its base as "malign propaganda."

The allegations the spokesperson mentioned were made by a group of militants who were recently captured in battle. As the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation stated Saturday, this group revealed that they were members of the Lions of the East group and admitted that they have a training camp near the US military base in al-Tanf.

According to the Russian Reconciliation Center, the clashes near Palmyra left two militants dead and two others detained. One of the detained terrorists said that US instructors took part in the training of his group and supplied them with weapons and ammunition.

The US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Daesh* targets in Syria since 2014. The coalition's mission was neither approved by Damascus nor the UN. Currently, about 2,000 US troops are deployed in Syria.

*Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State), a terrorist group banned in Russia, the United States and many other countries

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