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Al-Tanf
EntityQ43881656· pop 15· linked from 80 articles

Also known as Al-Tanf (Syrian base)

Al-Tanf () is a military base in a part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria, which is used by the Syrian Armed Forces. It is located 24 km (15 mi) west of the al-Walid border crossing in the Syrian Desert. The garrison is located along a critical road known as the M2 Baghdad–Damascus Highway. The surrounding deconfliction zone was located along the Iraq–Syria border and the Jordan–Syria border. The Rukban refugee camp for internally displaced Syrians was located within the deconfliction zone.

Key facts

Settlement.name
Al-Tanf
Settlement.native_name
التَّنْف
Settlement.native_name_lang
ar
Settlement.settlement_type
Syrian military base
Settlement.image_skyline
Al-Tanf.jpg
Settlement.image_caption
A UH-60 of the RJAF joins up with 5th SFG (A) operators in a landing zone at Al-Tanf, November 2017
Settlement.nickname
55 KM Area
Settlement.pushpin_map
Syria
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
Location of Al-Tanf, Syria
Settlement.subdivision_type
Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1
Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_name1
Rif Dimashq
Settlement.subdivision_type2
District
Settlement.subdivision_name2
Douma
Settlement.subdivision_type4
Region
Settlement.subdivision_name4
Al-Tanf Pocket () (until 2024)
Settlement.established_title
Established
Settlement.established_date
3 March 2016

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
military base
Country
Syria
Image
Al-Tanf.jpg
Show 3 more facts
Commons category
Al-Tanf
inception
2016-03-03
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~17 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Establishment
  • Operational history
  • Attacks on the base
  • Post-Assad era
  • Criticism
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Al-Tanf () is a military base in a part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria, which is used by the Syrian Armed Forces. It is located 24 km (15 mi) west of the al-Walid border crossing in the Syrian Desert. The garrison is located along a critical road known as the M2 Baghdad–Damascus Highway. The surrounding deconfliction zone was located along the Iraq–Syria border and the Jordan–Syria border. The Rukban refugee camp for internally displaced Syrians was 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 in December 2016. It has served as the headquarters of the Syrian Free Army until June 2025, and then of the 70th Division of the post-Assad Syrian Army, and eventually of the Syrian Desert Security Forces since October 2025. During the civil war, the area was subjected to a number of attacks by Islamic State, Ba'athist Syrian, pro-Iranian, and Russian forces, notably the Tower 22 drone attack on the Jordanian side of the border. The remaining American military personnel departed to Jordan on 11 February 2026.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Al-Tanf” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (4)

On the map

2 mapped locations